End of the Millennium
by Xian Shade
Summary: Two years post Galaxia, an unusual calm had settled. But when a disturbing message from the past reaches the scouts and threatens their future, how will they save their world from the source of evil? Book 2 complete
1. Guardian's Return, Chapter 1

The End of the Millennium  
A Xian Shade production 

Author's Note: Welcome friends, to the multi-book Series, "End of the Millennium"! I am your host and fellow author, Xian Shade. Periodically I will update this series with a new chapter, and I hope it will reside amongst the few stories that will be remembered as one of the largest. For those in the dark, this is a crossover story of the game series "Phantasy Star" and the Anime/manga series "Sailor Moon". Whilst I own neither of these series, I am writing this story out of inspiration that's existed in me for about a decade.

Both Sailor Moon and the final 16-bit installment of Phantasy Star both debuted in America in 1994. Three years later I was exposed to both in the same day, and a great big WTF ran through my brain at odd little similarities ranging from names, to characters, to personalities, to even events and the plot. I had this odd feeling that perhaps the people who did the dubbing for Sailor Moon were fans of the game, as the similarities aren't so glaring in the original. For years, a story would work its way through my brain, but I needed something special to bridge the gap in my ideas. I never believed I could write a whole story.

Then I was introduced to 'fanfiction', and 'project: End of the Millennium' began.

For years I wrote, planned, and revised the story again and again. I'd planned to have it complete by the 'end of the millennium', so to speak, but unfortunately such a thing did not occur. It's now five years BEYOND the millennium, and I'm just getting around to posting the finished product. But then again, it's FAR from finished. A few of you may have seen beta versions of the story a few years ago, when my hard drive was stubborn and ate the last two chapters of the first book. It got about as far as the third chapter of the second book before I pulled the whole thing down again.

This will HOPEFULLY be the final revision of the book series.

Now then, on to Book 1: Guardian's Return. This story takes place two years post Galaxia, when the life of the Sailor Senshi has wound down to a crawl, and one of the most unlikely of senshi begins receiving images of her past that might reflect the future.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos is © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Read and Review, people!

Now, I present to you: The End of the Millennium.

Prelude:

Tokyo, Mizuno residence, 3:23 AM: Ami Mizuno was sound asleep due to the two-year peace they had created. No more nightly attacks from their enemies meant more time for studying, and even more time for much needed rest.

A repetitive bleep nudged her from the rest she'd been getting. She reached for her alarm clock sleepily, hitting the snooze button, then looking at it through half-opened eyes when it had no effect on the beeps. 3:24 AM. She picked up her wrist communicator and pressed it.

She stifled a yawn. "Ami here..." no reply...but the beeping still came. Slipping from under the sheets of her small bed, she began searching and found her old communicator tucked away in a drawer, the beeping growing loud. Its frequency was way off from the old one they used. She pressed a few buttons on it and a garbled message came through, with a snowy picture:

"Cehto -chkl- n benotv -blft- Otzent met -chk- se pbelont -scrhk- orent ben -crkl- to chelta -chhhht- sobelan btro etra se milneb -ffffttt-"

The message was so alien and broken she could barely make sense of it, and the language was strange. This was no static, it was an actual signal! But who would send such a thing on their old frequency?

Guardian's Return, Chapter 1:

Tokyo, Hikawa Shrine, 4AM: The inner senshi had made their way to the Hikawa Shrine after Ami's insistent call, and they all had a hard time keeping awake around the sacred fire. The flame's heat often produced a sleepy sensation that was probably better-used for meditation, but it was the only proper meeting place aside from a bedroom itself. Luna and Artemis stood by the fire, ready for any news and insight they might give.

"What's the deal Ami-chan? Why'd you have to drag us all out here at this ungodly hour?" Makoto finally voiced after everyone was silent for a long enough time, obviously as annoyed as the rest. The senshi hadn't met for almost two years as a group. After Galaxia's defeat, the darkness just seemed to vanish from the minds and hearts of everyone on Earth. Even the senshi.

Ami produced her old communicator and showed it to the others, starting up the signal she received. The picture still wasn't there, but the same message poured out, translated and only a little fuzzed:

'Attention Sailor Senshi -fft- If you're hearing this, then I have failed to halt the attack on the Silver Millennium... -pfft-'

Ami paused the message. "The Silver Millennium died a thousand years ago... and we went with it. At first I thought that perhaps this was a message that didn't get to us during the war, but..."

She resumed the message. 'I pray this message reaches the -chkrl- -vivors when the time comes -fft- I say to you, Sailor Senshi, that your battle shall never be over until the root of evil is pulled free and destroyed. The evil you face is like a weed, getting more powerful each time you mow it down. It evolves quickly, digging its roots deeper until it's impossible to pull. If you do not become powerful enough to stop it, then you are finished. Your enemy watches you constantly, so make no mistake about feeling safe. First, they will try to find energy to give them life. Find the Silver Crystal's pieces and protect them. Guardian cats, find your charges and aid them in battling their enemies. After you have defeated their kind often enough, be ready: They shall track you down. Never assume it is over. Beryl's forces may seem powerful now, but they are only the prelude to your nightmares, for the horrible entity that powered their armies is but a child. If you can help it, -bfftt-ay in a group, and never venture alone. If you can survive for four years beyond the projected awakening period, I shall return to this solar system. -CHKKHKRR- -pefully I shall be greeted with gentle fashion, and I pray the darkness has not swallowed this system's life completely. May the Great Light protect you, and prepare, for the end shall soon begin.'

They all stared wide-eyed at the communicator as the message died. "If this message is accurate, and if our enemies aren't gone, we're going to be in deep trouble." Ami shivered, imagining the power of her mind and her own powers, not being enough to stop their enemy.

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Makoto asked, regaining a bit of her calm. "All we can do is train to be stronger. They're not here yet, and hopefully we should have enough time. With this guy coming back, maybe he can even help us?"

"This could also be a trick." Rei pointed out, her pessimism kicking its way into the discussion. "I haven't sensed anything for a long time. There've been no visions, nothing. Our enemies were probably wiped clear after Sailor Moon beat Galaxia. I mean, wouldn't this guy's image remain for the message if this weren't a trick? And why is it in our language?"

"I didn't understand the message at first, even when it was unscrambled, Rei-chan." Ami explained. "I ran up a program to translate it from our old language to this one, and this is what I got. Whoever it is, they spoke the language of the Silver Millennium."

"Besides Rei-chan, I seriously doubt the enemy would warn us to get stronger." Minako had her say now. "If you can't sense them coming, that's all the better for us! Like Mako-chan said, that's plenty of time to train ourselves to be stronger than our enemy. But it's going to be kind of wierd being together all the time again."

"I doubt someone who's at least a thousand years old would be much of an aid, girls. But why don't we take the advice and you can each spend your nights together at one of your houses?" Luna suggested.

"I'm sure your parents won't mind if it isn't too often." Artemis continued for her.

"We have to be careful... I nearly lost you all fighting against Sailor Galaxia and Chaos. If evil becomes any more powerful, he'll be right. We won't be able to stop it." Usagi mumbled, quite afraid and for once paying attention in their meeting. Something few expected. The others nodded.

"Tomorrow, after school, we should meet here to start training again." Rei pointed out. "We'll stay here afterwards." They stretched and returned to their respective homes and slept for the day to follow. After all, tomorrow was the first day of high school in their senior year.

As Ami slept, her dreams took a turn for the worse, as memories of the Moon Kingdom resurfaced and played before her. A faded memory came. A black-cloaked form seemed most prominent in her dreams...tall, but darkened, as though she was not permitted to remember him...or was that how he simply appeared? When the report of the attack on the solar system from Beryl's army came, the shrouded form vanished, and they were told to evacuate and make a stand at the moon kingdom's castle.

Her memory blipped to the battle on the moon. She had combined her attack with the other's to destroy the powerful monster blotting out the sky... Metallia. It simply shrugged it off, pointed at them, suddenly releasing a beam of energy. Ami woke with a scream as it hit, only to be droned out by the sound of her alarm clock.

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TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production

Author's note: Welcome back, folks. If you're reading this, then I must have piqued your interest with the first chapter. Who is behind the mysterious message sent to the senshi? Can he help in holding off the enemy? What does he know about them, and what ties may he hold to their past? Why don't you stop reading all this suspenseful crap and read the good part of the story? You're still reading, aren't you? Man, you must be bored. Ah well, as long as you're reading, I'll put up the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. If I DID own Phantasy Star, I'd recall all of PSIII and have them destroyed, and remake the game with better storytelling, faster movement (like in PSIV). I'd also have Sega re-release a copy of the first game for a recent system. Hell, if I owned ANYTHING of Sega, I'd make them re-release Splatterhouse and its sequels. But anyhow, back to what I do own...Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 2:

Juuban High School, 8AM: The morning of their first day of school, they had all made it on time. Even Usagi was in early, though she slept when she reached her desk. Ami tried her best to concentrate on her advanced children's psychology book in their advisory period, but the message and dreams from the previous night bothered her. 'If the enemy becomes stronger every time it's destroyed, what will happen when we can no longer fight it off?' She thought.

The nightmares continued to plague Ami for a week throughout school. The same nightmare, night after night. Finally, unable to take it anymore due to lack of sleep, she went to Rei.

"The dreams won't leave me alone, Rei-chan... it's the same thing all the time. I was hoping maybe you might know whether this has to do with an enemy, or even if you've had visions." Ami told her priestess/psychic friend.

"No, nothing. I haven't checked the fire in a while... but maybe I can help you." Rei gestured over to the fire and had her friend sit. "Meditation allows clearer thinking and mental strength. Perhaps you can battle this nightmare when you have better control of your dream. There may be a chance that an evil spirit is there, and I might be able to drive it out. If anything happens, I'll still be able to wake you."

Ami nodded, having meditated once before under Rei's supervision. Urawa had told her a few months back that his father had lost his job, and they were stuck in England. It would be some time before they met again, and her sorrow for Urawa's situation affected her studies. The meditation helped her concentrate, and whenever she needed to release that bit of sadness, she would always be able to do so afterwards.

"Close your eyes and think of the soothing sounds of the river. Water running over rocks. Fish splashing. Animals drinking. Soon you'll be in a state of sleep, and hopefully your dream will come again." Ami had already closed her eyes, listening to Rei speak, following her directions. Soon Rei could see the change in Ami's appearance, her breathing slowed, and her eyes moved rapidly. Her body would twitch every few moments, and Rei had taken little heed of it, before she could see the eyes squinting shut, muscles convulsing as she quaked on the spot.

'Rin, Hyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Chin, Retsu, Zai, Zen!' Rei chanted as quick as she ever remembered doing, drawing a ward from her robes and adhering it to Ami's forehead. Almost immediately, Ami's eyes flashed open, but something was definitely wrong. Her eyes were no longer a calm blue, but a startling jade!

"Etsofem motela chtrpnk horeeila!" two sets of a definitely male voice spoke through Ami, and her hand came up to tear the ward off her forehead. It burned up almost immediately in her grasp, crunched up, her eyes returning to their normal color, and blinking away the haze. "Rei-chan...? What happened? Oww!" she unclenched her hand, letting go of the remains of the blackened ward, her palm red from an obvious burn.

"I don't know for sure, but it's time to call the others. You've got something inside you, that much is certain."

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"...So will you do it, Pluto? If this thing is a leftover nightmare demon from one of our old battles, we're going to need to go in after it."

The older woman in question was one of the strongest of their group, a senshi that had maintained her duty for over a thousand years. Setsuna, Sailor Pluto, the guardian of Time, had once given the girls the ability to enter the dreams of their Queen's future daughter, to fight a monster that was trying to kill her from within. While it wasn't the same sort of situation, it was obvious Ami had a presence in her that didn't belong, and a strong one if Rei's ward had been overpowered to the point where Ami was able to move while under its influence.

-"I'll do it, but I'm loathe to use such a power unless her life is in danger. As far as we've seen, all it's doing is affecting her sleep schedule. But I understand the concern. A week of the same nightmare, and her reaction to your ward during such a nightmare means that she's been possessed on some level. The fact that it's bothering her makes it obvious that the possession is not standard, and that it is 'Ami-chan' we've been interacting with."- her voice came through the communicator as the rest of the senshi, even the other outers, had decided to show at the shrine. Their last battle with a nightmare monster had ended with luck, and only the inners were part of the team at the time. Granted, their powers hadn't been as strong then, but when friends and fellow senshi were concerned, who wanted to take that chance?

"I want this to stop... it's really bothering me, and after that message came up... I'm just wondering if it's related." Ami assured them she wanted to go through with it. "Unlike normal sleep, this nightmare seems to start as soon as I drift off, as my computer's scans show the movements you described rather quickly, Rei-chan. Let's hope you guys won't have a problem."

"Just do what you did before, Ami-chan. Pluto, we'll be ready shortly."

"Understood." the girls jumped as Sailor Pluto's ghostly form stood in the room, expecting her to be over the communicator.

"Will you be able to join us, Pluto? It would be more reassuring." Hotaru asked, the younger teen unsure of going into someone's dreams.

"Unfortunately not. Not only am I physically needed to continue to guard the gates, but I need to be able to pull you out in the event something goes wrong. Be careful, as the hazards of this nightmare may very well do real physical harm to you."

Ami once more had settled into a relaxed state, and the moment Rei noticed the first twitch, a glow enveloped them.

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"Are they dead?"

"I didn't see them get hit. They don't look injured."

"We have to leave them! They need us to defend the castle!"

The girls stirred at the voices, looking about. Their experience in Chibiusa's nightmare had no one other than themselves, a sense of 'self' that represented Chibiusa before she met them, and the nightmare demon. The presence of other people may have been significant, but right now they needed to make sense of things.

"So where are we?" Makoto looked about, moving her bangs slightly, but her vision seemed blurry.

"Oh wow... guys, we're in the moon kingdom!" Usagi replied. She had somewhat clear memories of her home in her past life.

"If that's the case, we should transform. Our stature will get us some answers!" Minako suggested. Ducking into an empty building and one gigantic magical flash later, seven sailor senshi ran after a group of soldiers.

"The princess' guard, thank goodness!" a running soldier took note alongside a group of others. "Where is Mercury? And who are these others?"

"We think she's already at the scene of whatever's happening! This is Sailor Moon, this planet's guardian, and we managed to get the guardians from Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn." Mars quickly interjected. "What IS happening?"

"You haven't heard? We're being invaded! The force is storming the castle at this moment, and a horrible dark entity is blotting out the skAAAH!" he shouted, before suddenly being silenced and falling from a spear impaling his chest.

Sailor Moon muffled a scream at the downed soldier, but Venus quickly retaliated against the small winged youma, which exploded upon impact with her crescent beam in a shower of dust.

"We gotta keep moving! C'mon!" Uranus tugged the unmoving Sailor Moon away from the dead soldier, but she didn't have to be pulled very far. There was Sailor Mercury, staring up at a creature the girls had hoped never to see again.

Metallia.

"Oh god... no wonder we're seeing people this time. This isn't just a nightmare, this is a memory!" Mars realized.

"We can take her this time! We're all stronger, and we have backup!" Jupiter indicated the outers as well as Sailor Moon, but barely had time to attack as the energy being blasted down at them.

"SILENCE WALL!" Saturn stood in the middle of the girls, the purple energy of silence defending them from a certain demise. "We have to be careful! This nightmare, even if it's a memory, could still kill us! Take it down!"

The six remaining senshi unleashed their now-stronger planetary powers, and unlike before, Metallia roared in pain instead of shrugging off their powers. Sailor Moon's tier very nearly obliterated the energy being. The only one not attacking was Mercury.

"C'mon Mercury, what-" Neptune went to snap the girl out of whatever was bothering her, but her eyes seemed dull. "Something's wrong!" she slapped her face lightly, but Mercury seemed unmovable. She held an angry gaze, but she wasn't looking at anything, and she was physically immobile, as though Neptune had hold of a mannequin. She looked in her mirror for some sign of their quarry. Obviously, it wasn't Metallia.

The moment their powers ceased the assault against Metallia, all sound seemed to stop. Soldiers from both sides of the army were locked in an unmoving struggle. The only mobile ones seemed to be the senshi, minus Mercury.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" they heard, and Neptune was the first to see the image of the grim reaper behind them in her mirror. "Intruders in the dreamscape... no matter. At least they've broken the nightmare loop this memory caused." the rather deep voice was doubled-over from the scythe-wielding entity, little more than a floating purple cloak and a white mask.

"Jaakoku! Why are you torturing her with these memories?" Mars shouted, recognizing it to be the very same monster that haunted Chibiusa's nightmare.

"I assume you're referring to me. You may lower your shield, my disciple. The nightmare can no longer harm you." Saturn hadn't moved before that point, afraid they would be attacked the moment she disengaged the shield, but the voice seemed to strike her like a bullet, turning to face him like the rest. "I am not this 'Jaakoku', and her memories are necessary for the very near future. But I had warned you not to interfere. You may have done irreperable damage to her memories, for example, had you completely erradicated Metallia."

"When did you warn us? We've never spoken with you before." Mars argued.

He floated quietly closer to the small group. "I disagree. The magic of your transformation does not protect the spirit I saw outside this body the last time she dreamed. It was, in fact, you who tried to drive me out, and I warned you against such interference."

"I didn't understand a word you said! It was gibberish!" she said, not letting on how upset she was at being discovered. This creature could tell who she was! Her identity was exposed!

"Very well, perhaps you do not understand my tongue in the world of the waking... I will work on that. In the meantime, you do not belong here. You must leave."

"No you don't!" Saturn leapt from the others, her glaive swept down upon him. "Silence Glaive surp-" the glaive gave a shriek as it stopped against his defending scythe. His floating form hadn't budged an inch.

"There's no need nor time for your antics, disciple. Begone." a single black hand left the scythe, and Saturn seemed to dematerialize as his open palm moved towards her.

"SATURN!" Uranus and Neptune shouted as they watched her vanish, the anger fueling their next move without thinking.

"WORLD SHAKING!"

"DEEP SUBMERGE!"

The twin orbital spheres of orange and blue collided into a larger, white energy sphere, exploding violently against their target. There was little time to celebrate when he moved through the flash of the explosion, unscathed.

"Most unkind of you." Jade eyes flared behind the mask. Jade. Now that Mars looked at him, this one wasn't exactly the same as the monster they once faced. The eyes of the one they had fought before were red, its arms were white instead of black, and it had a kind of jewelry below its mask, while this one had none. "This is my realm, and your powers are useless here unless I let them be otherwise. I have no desire to harm you, but you try my patience. I must correct the problems your interference has caused." his scythe tucked into his purple garb, and the black hands both aimed at the group of girls. "Leave."

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"-uto, please! You have to put me back in there, it's him! He's back!"

"I'm afraid I can't, Hotaru-chan. Not only would I need to bring back the others in order to send you back, but Chronos-sama has just forbidden me from doing-so again."

The girls came about rather quickly, and a panic ran through them. Haruka and Michiru seemed relieved that Hotaru was fine, but Ami remained asleep.

"What do you mean Chronos forbids you to put us back inside her dreams? She needs our help!" Usagi asked, rather upset.

"He noticed a significant lack of attention on my part, and a particular overuse of my power. He claims that since her life was not in danger, my assistance was no longer necessary."

"I don't care what he says! You have to help her! I demand that you help us to help Ami-chan!" Usagi tried to keep the tears out of her voice, with only marginal success.

"I'm sorry, princess... but Chronos-sama's authority supercedes even the late queen's, and my duty as a senshi, as well as my life, will be in peril if I refuse him after warning. Besides, he has informed me that this will benefit us all."

The girls were both shocked and stunned at Pluto's refusal. They'd heard Chronos' name mentioned a few times in the past by Chibiusa when she would call upon the time key's use, but never believed he was a real 'physical' creature. If Chibiusa's words were accurate, this was a God!

"So... what can we do, then?" Makoto asked, and the others merely gave a shrug. No ideas came to mind.

"He mentioned that your ward tried forcing him out, Rei-chan... could you try it again?" Minako suggested.

Rei shook her head. "I don't think I should. If he's not a monster like we thought, then interfering again may do more harm than good."

"So we wait..." Haruka sat back down, cross-legged.

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"No other interruptions." the spectre mumbled, moving his hands and rearranging the memory to more of a semblance that was remembered. Snapping his fingers, Mercury's eyes alit. "Now then, do you know who I am?"

"You... You're Jaakoku. We fought you almost four years ago in the dreamscape of Chibiusa-chan."

"Jaakoku...?" the being's green eyes blinked, which was little more than the green glow from behind the mask disappearing for a moment then reappearing. "Your friends called me that too... I'm afraid you're all mistaken. We have never fought, I do not know a 'Chibiusa-chan', and that is not my name."

"The fact that you're here in my dreams suggests otherwise."

"If you and your friends fought this... Jaakoku, and lived, then you obviously destroyed him, right?"

Ami realized what he was saying. How could he be that being if they destroyed him? She calmed a bit, still apprehensive of the intruder in her mind. "What are you trying to make me remember? My past? Am I supposed to know you?"

The being nodded. "We were close, back then."

"Back then?" She looked about, realizing he meant the surrounding dream. "The Silver Millennium?"

He nodded once more. "Now I am merely a shadow in your memory, the entity no being wishes to see, but all are destined to meet. My brothers and I were residents of this system. One served the court of Mars... or one might say it served him... but the other and I served in the outer regions, so we were mostly forbidden to enter your realm unless on political terms."

"All right then... if you're not Jaakoku, then who are you?"

"That answer will be revealed when we meet in person."

"Why can't you tell me who you are? Or your brothers? Do the others know?"

"Others...?" The being seemed perplexed, then remembered the girls that were present not long ago. "I see... I regret sending them away now... this concerns them too..." he returned his gaze to her. "No, they do not, and shall not until the time is right. These memories, as you've seen, are painful. The reason you do not remember them is because you were not meant to re-live such pain. Noah tangled the strings of war. The eye of the Great Light was not meant to be used in place of judgement for reincarnation. We will reveal ourselves soon. My time grows short. I take my leave of you, my lady." the dark image of death itself bowed graciously, then began dissolving. "Until then, remember..." it came close and touched her forehead before the last traces of his existence faded from view.

With that, the dream itself dissolved, and her eyes slitted open to the warmth of the sacred fire, and her friends all about.

"Ami-chan, are you all right? We got cut off! What happened?" Rei shook Ami to attempt to snap her out of her daze, and she simply nodded, and told them:

"He told me to remember..."

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TBC. 


	3. Chapter 3

The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production

Author's note: Here we go again! More for you! Read!

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 3:

Juuban High School:

Ami's nightmares didn't return. Instead, new images came. Happier times with her royal family, interaction with a humanoid stranger, more images of the shrouded being, and her realization that he wasn't welcome no matter where he went. Since he was from the outer region, could he have been so hated?

His cryptic words presented a challenge to her, and his identity was part of it. 'An entity no being wishes to see, yet all are destined to meet...' she wrote in her notepad in class, recalling his words. '...one brother served the court of Mars... or rather, it served him...' she chewed absently on the end of her pen. 'He and one other (Noah?) served the outer regions, and were not permitted to enter our realm unless on political terms...' she tapped the pen on the notepad trying to figure out the puzzle.

'Three brothers... one inner, two outer... and one of the outers was death itself?' she tried to piece it together, but kept coming up short. 'One brother served the court of Mars... and it served him...? Maybe Rei-chan has a clue.' The bell signaling the beginning of class rang, and a good deal of students filed in through the door.

High school wasn't much more complicated than their middle school, aside from the new types of math, history, and science. A new enemy had yet to show itself, and that was a welcome fact. Most students were altogether bored or clueless when answering questions, which was normal when first returning to school... unlike Ami, who as always, showed off with answers. A young man sat in the back of the class, scribbling in a small notebook as he eyed teacher and student alike. He looked to be older than the other students, with long purple shoulder-length hair tied back in a ponytail braid as thick as his arm. Whenever Ami answered he scribbled at the notepad furiously, his green eyes pierced at her admirably, a smirk grazing his face, then it averted back to the lesson.

At lunch the purple haired young man ate alone. He sat, leaning against a tree, and leafing through a small book, a cane by his side. Ami watched him cautiously, eating her lunch with the other girls, and also going over her little 'notes' from before class. She knew better than to trust 'new' students, from past experiences. This one hadn't even bothered with class introduction. It seemed that paranoia could be a good thing now and again.

"Rei-chan... our friend said some interesting things while you were gone." Ami commented, not really looking at any of the girls.

"Who, Ami-chan?" Makoto looked up before asking, as did the other girls, Usagi having a half-bitten snack hanging from her mouth.

"Jaakoku, I bet." Rei replied, a twist of irritation in her voice, as well as a little apprehension.

"He isn't Jaakoku." Ami explained.

"Could've fooled me, Ami-chan. Not many creatures can pull off looking like death itself."

"But I'm sure it isn't him. He wasn't harming me, and he doesn't recognize the name you called him."

"So you don't think he was just lying?"

"Rei-chan, I dusted Jaakoku myself." Usagi joined in Ami's defense. "That fight took a lot out of me, even if we weren't really, physically there."

Rei thought about that for a moment, and Ami took that moment to explain what she initially meant to say.

"I've told you about the nightmares I've had recently... it seems this creature that LOOKS like Jaakoku has been watching from inside, and is trying to recover the memories of my past life. When Rei-chan tried to help through meditation, he made himself known to us, and again when you all decided to join in and fight him." Ami explained, then turned to Rei after looking up from the book. "He was part of the Silver Millennium, Rei-chan. He knows who I WAS, not who I am. He mentioned his brothers, and commented on one. He said that one served the court of Mars, but the court of Mars also served him. I'm wondering if it might be possible that he's referring to your father in the kingdom of Mars?"

Rei shook her head. "Myhr, the king of Mars, died months before the battle... but perhaps..." Rei trailed off, closing her eyes in silent meditation, then opening them mere moments later. "Perhaps he meant the spirit of Mars himself. Ares. The God of War."

"C'mon, Rei-chan." Minako thought the idea was quite silly. "You expect us to believe in the actual presence of Gods now?"

"I know he's real, Minako-chan." Rei glared at the blonde with anger in her voice and eyes. "I saw him often in my previous lifetime... and when I pray to the sacred fire, the voice that speaks to me is his. Maybe we can get some information from him?"

"It stands to reason, Minako-chan. If he IS the grim reaper, then he represents the God of Death. Saturn's God." Ami explained.

"So that's why Hotaru-chan recognized him!" Makoto realized, when a shout broke up their discussion.

"FIGHT!"

A ruckus had started over by the purple haired youth. Apparently, a group of students didn't like him. It became more apparent when they started grouping around him, one throwing him against a wall and shouting threateningly to him.

"Whoa, can't miss this!" Makoto shouted, dropping her lunch and running toward the crowd of students, the other girls following to watch from safety behind the stairs.

Brushing himself off, the young man stood and smiled, attempting to walk away when a student tried to push him again. Almost imperceptibly, he grabbed the student's arm in mid-lunge, holding it in place with a calm facade. "That not very nice," he said in slightly poor japanese. "You stop now, while able."

He threw the student aside, against some others. The student leapt back up, an aura of darkness surrounding him and the students crowding them. They morphed into monsters, each one was even stranger appearing than the next. Some were merely shadows, some were armored beings, some were grotesque. The first one sported a venom sack on its shoulder and a curved blade as its right arm, pointed at him. "Leave! This doesn't concern you!" The monster shouted at the foreigner.

The normal students went screaming from the monsters, and the senshi stayed hidden. Somewhere, someone had hit the fire alarm, and the school was being evacuated.

"Man, I've never seen so many of them in one spot!" Rei said.

"We've gotta help him! Let's go!" Usagi said, getting ready to transform. She stopped when the others didn't seem to listen, as they continued watching. "Guys?" Usagi wondered why they weren't transforming.

Then she saw it, not quite sure what to make of the situation herself.

He mumbled something incoherent, taking an odd fighting stance. The creature lunged, swiping at him with the curved blade. With calm movements, he would step aside, duck, crouch, and at one point even caught the blade in both hands, holding it tight as the beast struggled to carve him to pieces. As he held it, he suddenly panicked, and jumped clear as the venom sac spurted a stream at him, eating away at the concrete behind him. Coming back down from his jump, it punched this time. He deftly blocked the blow, but remained off-balance from the landing, and didn't see the curved blade slice in from the side, digging between his ribs.

He howled in pain, then grabbed the curved blade-arm with his gloved hand, his other still holding the fist, wrenching the blade free from his side with a sickening shluckt. The monster appeared bewildered, and the student suddenly flipped upward, holding the arms as leverage as he kicked it in the face repeatedly, then planted his foot on its chest as he flip-kicked it in the jaw, flipping clear back to his cane, which he lifted and braced himself upon, holding his ribs with the other hand. The other monsters seemed baffled as the first one shook off the kicks it received, growling and lunging once more in a blind rage. This time, however, he grabbed the blade-arm AFTER it passed and he fell flat, kicking the sharpened appendage into the beast's stomach and throwing him clear. It convulsed for a moment after landing, then exploded in dust. The other monsters quickly jumped in, a dog-pile forming on the new student.

"That's it, we can't wait any longer!" Usagi exclaimed, ready to transform, when the girls pulled her down again. A monster just missed her head as it flew clear from the pile. Usagi looked again for a moment, then decided.

"Moon Eternal, Make up!"

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!"

"Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!"

"Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!"

One monster after another rocketed away from the pile, shattering or exploding as they hit walls that crumbled, trees that were knocked over, and one was ripped in two from the force of impact as it hit a stair rail, but there were still far too many tearing the young man apart.

"Can we take them down without hurting him?"

"I'm pretty sure I can. Give me a shot." Venus drew on her power, a sparkling golden chain with heart-shaped links sprouting from her aura as she grabbed the end, snapping it forward like a whip.

"Venus, love-me chain!"

The tip of the chain tore through a layer of monsters, swerving this way and that to her will, trying not to hit the young man that was somewhere within, the monsters powderizing. They seemed to take notice, and a few went for their new adversaries. A bit too late.

"Mercury, Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Jupiter, Oak Evolution!"

Ice and thunder magics began tearing into the remaining monsters, who now saw them as a larger threat. As the number of monsters diminished, they could see the foreigner swinging his cane like a weapon, apparently with enough force to decapitate monsters with the handle. Finally having enough room to get clear, he jumped out of the crowd as Sailor Moon attacked.

"Silver Moon, Crystal Power Kiss!" the rainbow torrent of energies flashed over each of the monsters until the last one's dust settled in the wind.

Seeing no other monsters, the girls went to look for the one they saved, only to see him slink around the corner of the school.

"Hey, c'mon! He's getting away!" Mars went to take off after him, but the others didn't budge.

"What for?" Venus asked. "They were attacking him, weren't they?

"He did a pretty good job fighting those things. He wasn't even surprised or scared! That's a deviation from the norm if ever I've seen one!" she insisted.

"Guys, hold on. We shouldn't go after him like this. Let's follow him quietly!" Jupiter suggested, and willed away her transformation. "Running around like this during the day isn't the norm either. The media might even catch on to this. Imagine the headline: senshi in school!"

The senshi trailed him for a bit after detransforming, hiding behind whatever cover they could find. He wasn't getting very far, using the wall for leverage, when he stopped and leaned against a wall, as if still exhausted.

"How long you five follow?" he shouted, not even looking back, clutching his side. The girls babbled in embarrassment, except for Ami. She left the others and wandered over to him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine, I-" he paused, looking at Ami. He was at least a foot taller than her, and grew flustered, realizing he was staring at her. "Forgive me... my name is Samuru Sotanaht."

"Ami Mizuno," She held an outstretched hand. Samuru took it, but brought it to his lips and kissed it instead of a friendly shake.

"Pleasure to meet Mizuno-san." he continued in his mangled japanese.

She pulled her hand away, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. In looking down, however she spotted Samuru's side, where there was a very large, and still-growing spread of blood forming on his dress shirt from the puncture wound the first monster gave. "Oh my gosh! Are you sure you're okay? My mother's a doctor. The hospital's not too far from here." she told him, pulling at his arm.

He turned away, twisting his arm from her grasp, and shook his head. "No, fine." He dashed a few yards, which belied his need for a cane, and crossed an intersection with the girls chasing after a moment's hesitation.

"Samuru-san, watch out!" Ami shouted, realizing he hadn't crossed at a crosswalk, and a car was barrelling down the street. She covered her eyes, as did most of those present, and they could hear the shattering of glass, but other startling sounds were present that didn't belong. Ami dared to peek, and barely believed what she saw. The car had seen better days. All four tires had blown out, every window was shattered, and the metal roof had crumpled as though it had been stepped upon by a very large foot. Oddest of all, however, was the circular-shaped pothole surrounding the car, as though the blacktop had been compressed a few inches. The car hadn't hit Samuru, that much was certain... but he was nowhere to be seen.

He was gone.

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TBC. 


	4. Chapter 4

The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: Finally, some reviews! See, it wasn't that hard, was it? I'd enjoy some further criticism, and perhaps some insight. While the chapters are already written, I feel they could use more. You may be wondering where all the R rated stuff is. Most of it is my foul-mouthed author's notes and comments at the bottom. But much later we'll see some gore and sickening stuff... not including romance, but there will be some of that too. :B

Now onto the legal shit.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and any other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

NEW THINGS: Tilde's between sentences represent a foreign language, translated for us to read.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 4:

"Ami-chan... what the heck happened?" Usagi asked, touching the dip in the blacktop, where people were gathering to see the mystery of the crushed car, emergency medical crews trying to wrench the doors open to save the very-scared but uninjured people inside. There were enough people that nobody could see her scanning the affected area, but the cramped space wasn't much fun to work in.

"Well from what I can tell, the car stopped due to a sudden and very powerful increase in gravity, right at this point. The increase blew out the tires, and the weakest point of the car, namely the roof, collapsed from it, shattering the glass."

"So this circle all around the car..."

"...means that this was focused. An attack, maybe. But was it aimed at the car, or at Samuru-san?" she looked up at a beep on her computer, seeing a shady figure on a rooftop that quickly vanished upon being spotted.

"Let's get back to the shrine. It's too crowded here for my taste." Rei suggested, and they moved out of the emergency area like the medics were asking people to do in the first place.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere:  
"You're home early." Echoed from a near-empty chamber, rounded on all ends save for the floor, after the heavy metal door slammed behind the one that stormed inside.

"There's a problem. We were followed... in more ways than one." Samuru told the three others, who stood in the empty darkness.

"Explain." One said.

"I went to infiltrate the school, kept my cover low, socalized with few people. Then they jumped me. There was at least two dozen of them in the middle of the courtyard during a break period. I waited until the other students were clear, and I wiped them out with assistance from the targets... but that obviously means we were followed. They couldn't know the same information we do."

"And the other way?" the second observed the comment.

"A group of girls. They hadn't gotten clear when the attack happened, and they followed me partway here." He explained, still clutching his side.

"Were you able to make contact?" a dark blue set of eyes shone from the first being.

"I wasn't able to tap in, but I'm certain it's them." He sighed.

"Patch yourself up. We're going hunting." The second spoke, red eyes glowing from the darkness as he turned to leave.

Samuru's eyes glowed green as the red eyed one passed. "Listen. This world reeks of the darkness... but it's older than the beings I found. Our targets are definitely here. We wipe this planet clean, we find our targets, and we get out of here." Samuru told the red one. "...And we're not to kill anything but the dark ones. You got that?"

The red eyed being growled and sighed, nodding in affirmation, then spoke himself, back to their blue-eyed companion. "One last thing. We may need some mojo tonight. I sense a powerful conflict approaching."

Meanwhile:

During the walk home, Rei finally spoke up. "I've been getting a weird vibe from that guy all day. It's a strange one. I can't say for sure whether it's bad or not. He turned those creatures into dust with his bare hands, and I wouldn't say that's normal. The fact that his aura just vanished doesn't help his defense either. I felt that other presence also, Ami-chan. You didn't say anything, but I saw you look."

Makoto nodded. "I may be pretty strong, but there's no way I'd be able to hit most of those things without hurting my hand, much less destroying them!"

"Could this be the one from the message?" Ami wondered to nobody in particular.

"What's bothering me is those monsters... the sacred fire never with-holds information about our enemies. Could the force we face be so powerful that we can't sense it? It could have been here since before Galaxia came!" Rei ground her teeth, kicking a stray stone that stuck up in the path.

"In any event, we know the message arrived in time, and that it was accurate. You should try to see if your contact DOES know something, Rei-chan." Ami explained.

They headed for the Hikawa Shrine, and sat before the fire, as Rei prayed to it in silence. "Sacred fire, I am the flame. We seek your wisdom. Grant us the knowledge of our enemy and the one that's destroyed them. Tell us of the demon that plague's Ami's dreams"  
Nothing. The flame whipped about more violently, but did not speak to her. 'C'mon Ares,' she thought out to him. 'Don't leave me hanging here. We need answers.' Still the fire only crackled. "It's no good. I'm not getting anything."

"Could it be broken?" Minako asked in her simple blondish manner.

"Fires don't break, Minako-chan... they burn out." Makoto corrected her, groaning.

As if on cue, an explosion rocked the courtyard of the shrine, and the sacred flame indeed whipped and burned out. Whether from the lack of fire or not, the air seemed to darken and chill. An immense evil was here, and it overwhelmed Rei's senses. "No, not here..." she whispered, fear clearly showing from her eyes.

Usagi poked an eye over the tall window, spotting a shaded form crouched on the ground. It stood, revealing a man with dark raven hair, covered in broad-expanse black armor, with a cape to match. The scorched area that he stood upon crackled with dark purple energy. He looked around for a moment, then shouted. "HEAR ME SAILOR SENSHI, FOR I KNOW YOU ARE NEAR! I AM ZIO, EMISSARY OF THE MIGHTY DARK FORCE! YOUR TIME IS NOW, CREATURES OF LIGHT! FACE ME!"

"What should we do?" Usagi asked. "Rei, our enemy's never tried to face us outright... You don't think this is our new enemy now? This Zio guy?"

Rei lowered her eyebrows, grasping her transformation crystal. "Whether he is or not, if it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he's gonna get!"

"Right!"

"Mars Crystal Power..."

"Mercury Crystal Power..."

"Jupiter Crystal Power..."

"Venus Crystal Power..."

"MOON ETERNAL...!"

"MAKE UP!"

The five senshi transformed, but stayed out of sight from their enemy. Zio continued to look around, and then turned away from their direction. "Now or never guys!" Venus whispered.

"VENUS, LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"

The heart shaped blast tore through the wall to their enemy. Zio spun around and grabbed the heart blast, crushing the power in a fist, the energy shattering and making a sound much like broken glass. He found his assailant, locking his coal black eyes with Venus'. He grinned and gestured his left hand out to the side and bowed his head, a slight chuckle forming in his throat.

"So you've decided to fight? A choice I certainly wouldn't have made if I were in your position." Zio hissed through clenched teeth, his mood going from humorous to angered to gentlemanly in the space of moments. "...but since I'm sporting, I'll let you see if you can even hurt me before I destroy you all!" He raised his arms saying this, flames pouring from his hands, as though they were on fire. "Come then! Show me what you've got!"

"MARS, FLAME SNIPER!" was shouted as Rei wasted no time, firing a blazing arrow from above, upon the roof. It was sent spearing toward Zio's chest and the fire extinguished as it touched him, as though it hit a wall.

"JUPITER, OAK EVOLUTION!" Jupiter called out, the razor like beams of energy targeted at every aspect of Zio. Unfortunately, the attack had the similar effect, as each leaf beam went out upon contact.

"This is all you've got? Pathetic!" Zio laughed, the smoke from his flames forming a cloud above.

Sailor Moon looked worried and turned to Mercury. "Mercury, what's going on? Can you get any readings on this guy?"

"I'll try," she said, activating her visor. The view screen showed the truth, and energy readings were off the scale. "Venus, try your crescent beam. I need to check something."

Sailor Venus wasn't sure about that. The crescent beam was one of the powers she began her life as a senshi with, and more powerful ones were available now. Still, she complied, and confirmed the belief when the first time she fired, the beam seemed to ricochet, and the second time (at Mercury's request) the beam actually BENT out of Zio's path and around him.

"It's what I thought... Zio has already erected a barrier that's negating our attacks!"

"So what do we do?" Rei asked.

"That's not all... the smoke he's releasing is emitting an energy signature as well..."

"Giving up so soon?" Zio taunted. "Well, I'm afraid your time is up!" they watched in horror as the flames in his hands were put out, and the intent of his attack shown. Zio looked up at the cloud he created and smiled, a sinister laugh growing in his throat. The senshi looked at it too...

...and it looked back!

Glowing eyes, claws, and a rotten maw gaped down at the senshi, letting out a glass-shattering screech, the senshi's hands clapped over their ears. Trees caught fire as lightning struck from the dark nimbus. Mercury squeezed her eyes shut and froze, this scene all too familiar. The monster from her dream and from her former life was slowly blotting out the sky, staring them down.

"My Lord Dark Force, I bring you this sacrifice!" Zio exclaimed. Its laugh boomed throughout the city, it's very voice sending chills through the senshi and people for miles around. It pointed at them and energy crackled from its outstretched finger...

...and it stopped when Zio grabbed a rose that was thrown at him.

"The evil of this world has been vanquished several times before! You face the mightiest warriors of the planet, and still expect to come away laughing! I won't allow it!" Tuxedo mask shouted, leaping down from the light pole he stood upon.

And when he touched to the ground, he fell to one knee, then flat on his face...the senshi gasped in horror, as they barely saw it coming...

...There was a scorched hole burned straight through his chest, and out his back by the Dark Force.

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TBC. 


	5. Chapter 5

The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: Many people are gonna start asking questions about this fic, and many already have. Firstly, this story has NOTHING to do with Phantasy Star Online... but it may one day. Its original intention was to show the similarities between the earlier games (Phantasy Star for the old sega master system, and PS 2, 3, and 4 for the Genesis) and Sailor Moon. The ones who know the games should recognize the name Noah, and Zio. Secondly, I wanted to point out the name of Zio's god is very similar to that of the being Beryl worshipped... in fact they were too similar not to point out. DarkForce:NegaForce. Both were huge and powerful creatures of darkness. Both are considered planetary destroyers. Only differences? Name, and slightly different physical form. Aight, enough explanations. On with the story!

Ok, I lied... I still gotta put up the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and any other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 5:

"No..."

It was inconceivable.

Mamoru Chiba, Prince Endymion, Tuxedo Mask... the prince and original guardian of Earth, now lay prone on the solid concrete of the temple grounds, ambushed by the very creature he attempted to stall. Blood began to seep from the open wound through his right lung area.

"NO! Mamo-chan!" Sailor Moon screamed, covering the body of the man she loved with her own, shielding him from further harm.

"How quaint." Zio grinned, still holding the rose he'd caught. He squeezed the magical flower by the stem and it began to wither, its petals drying and its stem thinning, before the would-be weapon turned to ash in his palm. He sighed, dusting off his hand, which bore no scratch or wound from squeezing its thorns. "While this heartbreaking scene simply makes my day, I'm afraid that time is not on our side."

"Mamo-chan... please... you have to get up... get out of here..." Sailor Moon sobbed, trying to move the profusely bleeding man off the battlefield. He remained motionless aside from his labored breathing.

"Great Dark Force, kill them both if you will. I'll handle the other four." Zio turned his attention to the remaining senshi and a column of fire came between them and their princess. They'd tried to step between during the distraction, to serve at least as a shield until they could find a way to retaliate. But how could they? "I'm afraid you four will be entertaining me, and those two will please the Dark Force for now... so what do you say? Shall we start again...?" But something was wrong: There were only three senshi before him. The blonde beauty that attacked him first was nowhere to be seen.

The Dark Force opened its gaping maw, and its mouth grew swimmingly dark with energies that gathered. With another soul-splitting shriek, it opened its mouth even wider to Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, and released the dark energy.

"NOW!" Mercury shouted.

Purplish energy formed a protective wall in front of Sailor Moon, repelling the foul energy that forced against it from the dark nimbus.

"What the... AGHK!"

Venus' chain whipped about Zio's neck from behind and pulled him back off his feet. He tugged at the chain, trying to regain his footing. "You think this will stop me! KILL THEM!" he forced in a choked voice.

The Dark Force backed up in the sky, horriffic amounts of lightning lightning forming within the depths of its body, threatening to swallow half the city, when three blasts launched from the nearby trees, and the Dark Force's head erupted in an explosion of dust, and dissipated from the attack, its dark-cloud body soon to follow, reverting to a simple stormcloud. The four outers came out of hiding and stepped onto the battlefield, Venus never breaking the choking hold of her love chain. Saturn stepped over to Tuxedo Mask and poured her energies into healing the open wound. Satisfied all would be well, Sailor Moon stood and faced their new enemy.

"All right. Who are you working for? Who sent you? Why are you after us?" Usagi hardly ever showed a threatening feature to anyone, and this move came as quite a bit of a shock to the others. She hadn't had a chance to be threatening to Galaxia, because she had no desire to hurt a fellow sailor senshi, and was too paralyzed by grief and compassion. But now she'd seen Mamoru attacked by this man, and she had two years of steeling her emotional resolve, so she wasn't going to have it. She jabbed her tier threateningly under Zio's chin, and he chuckled like a madman, unfazed, but the chuckles were slightly choked due to the chain.

"Hmhmhmhmm... I was sent by our queen. She calls out to all of us, you know. I'm not the first, and I won't be the last." His form phased out, and then back in a few yards away.

"You believe the mighty Dark Force beaten? HA! I only summon its essence! You may send it away, but I may always bring it back!" His hands caught fire once more, and were quickly extinguished, his spell reassembling the monster above, the cloud's shapes reforming the grotesque creature.

"You were lucky and had your chance, but you blew it!" The Dark Force regained its features and fists formed, which suddenly raised and lowered, pounding the ground, sending a shockwave along with its screech, sending the senshi into a weakened state that knocked them off their feet. "I must admit you're more resourceful than I gave you credit for. It was a pleasure doing battle with you. Farewell..." he commanded the Dark Force with his hand, but instead of acting, a shrill screech ensued, much different from when it attacked. Zio and the senshi looked up to see the beast's eyes being gouged by two weapons, attached to two strangers.

A flaming red entity with an even brighter red sword had plunged it into the right eye of the monster. The second was a shrouded creature, a more unconventional weapon buried in the monster's left eye: a scythe. The Dark Force dissipated once more, and the dark clouds that made the monster vanished this time. The duo above turned their heads to Zio, who stood dumbfounded at the new arrivals. Definitely beings to report. Without another word, Zio phased out, and the normal warm energies of earth reappeared.

The senshi regained their balance, and the saviors from above lowered to the ground, speaking in mere glances, their features hidden respectively behind a white mask and a red helmet. Mercury and Saturn spotted the blackened stranger.

"YOU!" they both simultaneously said, pointing to him. He remained silent and moved beside Saturn, over to the unconscious form of Tuxedo Mask. "No! He's fine! You don't have to take him! I still have to finish healing him!"

"You can't..." its voice was doubled over. "His wound is incurable. He is infected with the black wave." He moved to touch the fallen prince.

And his neck lay open to Uranus' sword as it moved between him and Tuxedo Mask. "I don't know what you're gonna do, but I suggest you back away slow." Uranus made the ghostly image of the reaper rise once more. "I'm glad you and your friend were able to bail us out of that battle, but from what Saturn just said about you taking him, well... you're not taking him anywhere."

Jade eyes flared beneath the white mask and his hand swept out and passed into Uranus' chest, then back out with no wound, but he held clasping something, and she seemed quite unable to stop herself from screaming in tortured pain as she dropped her talisman. "Would you rather that I take you, then?" the voice churned. Uranus thrashed as he held what appeared to be a thin line of gauze not from her uniform, but attached to her all the same. Saturn held her glaive up to the shrouded face, and the others all charged their respective powers, ready to take this new menace in a savior's guise.

"I won't let you take her, or him, like you took my father... release her soul NOW." Saturn hissed, angry tears burning her face. He let go of the gauze that he held Uranus by, which snapped back into her chest, and she collapsed, regaining her breathing, vision, and other bodily functions, though writhing on the ground in pain. "This THING in front of us is an abomination, even on my planet. I don't know why you helped us, or why you're doing this now, but we want you to leave." Saturn was usually more quiet than Pluto, who never showed emotion. "Death has no place amongst life."

He nodded. "So you remember me. I don't wish to harm any of you. You are all vital to the survival of everything, but..." the black one spoke, while the red blade of the other figure appeared at the stomach of Sailor Moon, and his hand clapped over her mouth to prevent protest. "...you will cease your attack now, or we WILL become enemies."

The senshi turned their attention to their leader and princess, who was being threatened. In that moment of hesitation, the black figure grabbed Tuxedo mask and phased out of existence. "Mission accomplished..." the red figure spoke finally, and disappeared as well in a burst of flame, leaving a freaked out Sailor Moon to fall backward and try to pat out flames that weren't there. Rei blinked as tears welled up at the sound of the voice the red being eminated. It was impossible, but it was true.

It was Ares himself.

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TBC. 


	6. Chapter 6

The End of the Millennium: Guardian's Return A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: I'm impatient about reviews, so if you don't want to/can't review, at least drop me an email and tell me what you think. After all, some people believe public opinion sometimes is frowned upon.

I think the story's going fairly well so far, and I've re-written pretty much everything from chapter three on, so any of you who've read my story before, you're obviously noticing a change! I honestly had no intention of having tux-boy attacked the first time I wrote the story. He just pisses me off how he throws a flower (he throws like a girl :P) and never really challenges the monsters himself. I like his abilities in the manga better. He's more of a mascot or a distraction than an assistance in the anime. The only time he played a decent part was when Zoicite was after him. When he got hurt, he was fighting... not for the world, but for his life. Some planetary guardian, huh? Ok, enough rant. Disclaimer, then, ad infinitum, story.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 6:

Hikawa Shrine, 10:38 PM The senshi sat gathered in Rei's room, detransformed, trying to figure out what went wrong. Only Rei wasn't present, as she set about relighting the fire once again, trying to contact Ares, and find out why he had betrayed them. Their enemy was indeed as intelligent as they were warned they were, but the senshi had assistance. Assistance that saved them, but took from them an ally.

"Ami-chan, Hotaru-chan, I think it's time you told the rest of us what you know." Makoto said. It was far from a request. All eyes pointed to the shortest senshi of the group.

"I can't really tell you all that much. He LOOKS like the monster that had invaded Chibiusa-chan's dreams, but he insists he isn't. He's the figure from the nightmares I had recently, and he's somehow tied to my past... my dreams seem to be how he's making me remember my previous life. He wasn't exactly welcome on my world, I can tell you that much."

"He wasn't welcome on 'any' world..." Hotaru interrupted and spoke evenly, her eyes were cold and dead like so long ago, when she was still possessed by Mistress Nine. Now all eyes focused on her. "In my previous lifetime on Saturn, I first saw that black being... he was tugging at my father's soul, trying to get him to cooperate. His name is Thanatos... but my people refer to him as 'Death'. He considered himself the god of my people, but we hated him. It was because of his presence that our planet wasn't officially included in the Silver Millennium, why my father died in that time, and why the three other outer planets' people weren't really considered close guardians. My people were the sore spot of the galaxy, and it was his fault."

"That sounds pretty bitter coming from you Hotaru-chan." Minako replied, not expecting much for response, nor getting any. She continued. "You said he was going to take Mamoru-san. Do you know where he was taking him?"

Hotaru simply looked down, clenching her fists, and becoming fascinated with something on the table, as she wouldn't look anywhere else. "What I meant by taking him was what he almost did to Haruka-papa... he was taking him for soul divining, and reincarnation."

Usagi clutched at the skirt of her school uniform, also becoming fascinated with the table. "So he's... gone?" Tears began welling up in her eyes once more.

"No, he's still alive." Rei said, sliding open the door to her room and closing it again with a relieved look on her face. "I did another reading and finally got something... I saw him under their care. They were trying to save him as best they could."

"What do you mean? Didn't Thanatos say his wound was incurable?" Ami asked, taking note of his name, rolling it over in her mind. It was somewhat familiar, but not quite.

"Yes, but they can stabilize him for now. From what I saw, they can minimize the spread of infection, but they won't be able to completely heal him until he's cured." Rei said matter-of-factly.

"Which is impossible, right?" Michiru pointed out, figuring there must be a loophole somewhere.

"I know he'll be fine. I saw him alive and fighting in the vision as well." Rei finished.

"This Ares guy sure has a lot to say for someone who wouldn't answer the phone not too long ago..." Usagi said, relieved that Mamoru would be all right. "What about that red armored guy that tried to attack me? Anyone recognize him?"

Rei groaned, holding her head. "Usagi-chan, THAT was Ares-sama. He did that because we wouldn't let them near Mamoru-san, and the longer they waited, the less of a chance he had." She flicked her dark raven hair aside, looking to Ami. "All right, then. So far we've encountered Thanatos and Ares. We guessed right about Ares being his brother, but now I'm not sure. If this is the same guy from your dream then he said there was another brother, right?"

"He mentioned another brother, yes... as well as someone called Noah. It's possible they're the same person." Ami reviewed her notes.

"You don't need to look into it." Setsuna spoke for the first time that day since she launched her part of the triple strike on the Dark Force. "The third you're considering is Chronos-sama. He's spoken with me quite often about his brothers, and the rashness of their actions in the days of the Silver Millennium."

"He usually protects the time gates when you're not there, right?" Haruka asked, her chest muscles were tightened painfully from her encounter with Thanatos, and she looked as though she were suffering from a heart attack. Ami's scans thankfully proved otherwise.

"Yes. It would explain why he was not present with his other brothers. I was absent from my post, so he took my place when I left to aid you. That was a good plan, by the way, to have us hide as backup while Minako-chan distracted Zio." Setsuna both explained and congratulated to Ami.

"Something's off though. He mentioned the name Noah as though it had some meaning... he told me Noah 'tangled the strings of the war'." Ami hardly heard Setsuna's compliment, as the puzzle began to form a picture, but pieces were still missing.

"Is it necessary to know?" Makoto asked her. "We have a new enemy, two or three new allies, and high school to deal with, plus Tuxedo Mask out of the picture. Is a small detail like that really worth it?"

A sigh escaped a few senshi lips, and stretches came from the others. The outers stood. "Perhaps we should take the advice from the message. Haruka-san and Michiru-san will be keeping guard outside. I must return to the time gates and relieve Chronos. Hotaru-chan, you know the most about our somewhat-ally... hopefully you can protect the others if he attempts anything in the night." Setsuna explained and nodded to her friends, before phasing out of reality.

The remaining three outers transformed, Uranus and Neptune stepped out into the chill night air, while Saturn held her glaive ready, preparing to watch over the room while the others turned in for the night.

Ami's Dream, 11:00 PM

Ami's mind whirled even in her sleep over the little fragment of information, rattling around like a pebble in a jar. Another dream of her past became evident. Faces became more real, and conversations were remembered over the time she'd had the rest of her dreams. This dream, however, left her feeling odd. She watched from behind the Queen's throne on Mercury, looking at the back of her father.

"I cannot believe you would do this to us... our first child, abandoning us!" The king of Mercury positively roared with anger, and Ami didn't really understand. What did she do that upset her father? Why wasn't her father even looking at her?

"You have to understand... I cannot take this life! Our people coop themselves up all the time, making improvements to life rather than living those improvements! As royalty, I live more as your shadow than my own life! I cannot leave to enjoy life, because I'm smothered!" a girl's voice spoke, a tad deeper than her own. Her father wasn't talking to her, but to someone else.

The words he spoke a moment before hit her. '...our first child.'

'...our

first

child.'

A presence loomed over her shoulder. "The past is indeed painful, is it not?"

Ami turned about to see the dark form of Thanatos watching over her as the dream played out, a sympathetic hand upon her shoulder. "Your elder sister, Kyra. She never wanted the crown, or the large responsibility that came with it. If it weren't for her leaving, we probably never would have met." his voice echoed in that same, doubled-over tone. She turned her head back to see the arguing family, spotting the object of her memory. Her sister couldn't have been three years older than she at that time, but the similarities were hard to deny. That same aqua blue short hair, deep ocean eyes, and though taller than herself, the still short stature.

Peeling herself away from the scene, she looked to him again. "Why are these memories necessary?" she asked, not really disturbed anymore, but more curious than anything. His gaze never left her face, and his hand gestured to the side, and the room blurred for a moment, to settle in another, smaller room.

"Your sister's renouncement of her title weakened your mother when she was already terribly ill... so much so that her time had come much sooner than expected. I was required to take her spirit and hold it until the appropriate time... but when I was to do my job, I saw you, clasping her hand, listening to her as she told you of your new destiny as the future queen." He pointed over to the scene he described. "Only those who are due to be taken by me can see me without my will... but somehow, on that day..." They watched as his younger form appeared, and when her mother looked at him, young Princess Amilia followed her gaze.

"You shouldn't be here... my mother's very sick." the princess told him. He tilted his head, dumbfounded. She shouldn't have been able to see him. No matter...

"I'm here to help your mother. She will not get better, I'm afraid. I am here to help ease her passing." the thousand-year younger Thanatos explained.

"You're death, aren't you?" she blurted out.

A smile lurked somewhere behind the mask. "Perhaps I am." he replied.

"Nobody could help her... I'm glad you can. People say you're bad... Why?" Amilia was a seeker of knowledge even at her younger age, and even in her past life.

"People say I'm bad because they think I cause death. The truth is I just help people who are close to death to overcome their pain and move on. Nobody goes before it becomes their time."

"But what about people who get killed?"

"Sad to say, but it is generally their time when they're killed... and I don't take everyone. I simply help those that need it, like your mother does."

"That's good to know. I'm Princess Amilia of the kingdom of Mercury. Nice to meet you, Death." the girl held out her hand.

Again, that dumbfounded tilt of the head. He extended a black-gloved hand, and took the smaller one. "Please, call me Thanatos."

The dream froze over to grayscale, crystallized, and blew away like sand, leaving a solid-white void they floated in. "That day, I met someone who saw me for who I was, not for what others believed me to be. I gained my first real friend. You." he explained, blatantly standing out in the white backdrop, being all black.

"Then why were you hurting Uranus earlier? You pulled at her soul, but you told me back then that you never took someone before they were ready!" She shouted at him.

"And I did not take her, nor was I going to. It was merely a threat to make her stand down. Much like we did with your leader. But unfortunately that action may have awakened some unpleasant memories for the child of Saturn. She also knows of me from the past, and remembers my transgressions against her father... what a mess that was. In a moment of rash stupidity, I sealed my fate and the fate of the whole planet as an outcast for this galaxy. I did not take her father's life then, nor did I take it in this new lifetime. In that old time, her father grew ill after I'd 'threatened' him, and when he died, she blamed me for his death." He explained.

She sighed. He seemed unwilling or unable to argue, and thus far he only struck when threatened, but still, only as a warning. Here was no monster. Here was just a person, a friend, genuinely concerned for all their safety. It was no wonder he was misunderstood and outcast.

"All right. I apologize for my accusation... but some things are bothering me. Who is Noah?"

"Noah is my brother."

"Isn't Chronos your brother?"

He was silent for a moment. "Yes, he is."

"But you said you only had two brothers?"

"No, I said I only had two brothers that served this system."

Tricky! "Fair enough. Who is our enemy then?"

"I cannot say just yet."

"Why?"

"Because your friends are attempting to wake you, and they suspect foul play on my part." he said, gesturing to the white background. "They've been trying to wake you for a few minutes now. I must go. We will speak again..."

"Wait!" She shouted, but his black form phased to white, and she heard the faint sounds of her friends shouting to her and the feeling of them shaking her, until finally she opened her eyes.

"What? I'm up!" she said, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she sat up from the small bedroll.

"You're lucky it's the weekend, Ami-chan! You slept in!" Minako prodded.

She looked at her watch. 10:03 AM

"I slept for eleven hours!" Ami cried out, listening to her watch to see if it was working properly.

"He talked to you again, didn't he? I couldn't get in." Rei interrogated the still somewhat-groggy Ami. "Spill it. What did he want?"

"He's shown me many things about my past. He's trying to assure me that he means us no harm... and I believe him." Ami smoothed out the hair that felt astray. "Any sign of our enemy or our allies?"

"None... but we haven't been able to contact any of the outers. Even Hotaru-chan's missing!" Usagi was still worried all the same about Mamoru, and now that included the other four senshi.

There was a knock at the door to Rei's room. "Rei-san, there's someone here to see one of your friends. You guys awake? and decent?" came the voice of Yuuichiro from the other side of the door.

"Give us a minute, Yuuichiro-san. We'll be right out. Who is it?"

"Some guy named Samuru. Says he knows you guys from school."

The girls blinked, looking back and forth between each other. How did he know where they lived, or for the matter of the moment... stayed?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

TBC. 


	7. Chapter 7

The End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: Ok, I'm sorry this took so long to get out there. I really didn't know how the last chapter was gonna end. When you write a story using 2AM concepts (the best kind around) you generally tend to lose focus on how to end it. In my stupidity, I also submitted it, and I've already gotten a review...

Anyhow, my point is that while talking with Noba Tooku, author of 'Copelia's Tale', 'Shadows Are But Shadows', 'Dragoon Spirits', and 'Hensou No Yume' (The Masquerade of Dreams), I realized the goof of my story, and how best to fix it, because I was discussing spoilers, and it hit me on what to do for this chapter. Even though you're not directly responsible for this, this chapter is commemerated to you, Noba! I kindly ask anyone who bothers to read my rants to read her stories and review them, since she's in a kind of slump, and was kind enough to review out of nowhere, unlike the rest of you, who I forced into reading and reviewing! I mean... err... um...

In regards to any questions people may have about chapter five, yes. The Kyra I refer to is Kyra Tierney, from the fourth installment of Phantasy Star. She had very little appearance in the game, and yet she bore a striking resemblence to our favorite ice-senshi (esp. with the short blue hairstyle, and the tiara). If anyone else happened to pick up something similar, YES! I know that Sari from Phantasy Star 3 looks a lot like Jupiter, and has her same ass-kicker attitude. Again, a character that had very little game-time appearance. (You fight her, she joins your party, and you have the chance to marry her. Heh, talk about bangin' someone before you know them!) Despite this similarity, I will not mention it in the story, but only here, in this rant, because I can. I'M THE AUTHOR, DAMN IT!

Az usual, Disclaimer, then you get your story fix. Yes, Noba. I purposely made Haruka more similar to her personality from the Manga. Her personality fits much better there. The 'cousin' thing was somewhat disturbing, since they're lovers. I only put the two together to show that they work well together.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 7:

"Rei-chan, didn't you sense him coming? You said he has a pretty wierd vibe, right?" Minako whispered to her so that those outside the door wouldn't hear her.

"I couldn't... I was too busy focusing on Ami-chan's dream!" she hissed back, trying to hold back anger. Nobody's perfect, and one person can't do everything.

"Rei-chan, you don't have to do that anymore. None of the dreams have been nightmares, really, and none of them repeat themselves anymore." Ami assured her, dressing in something more proper than her sleepwear.

After a short time, and some clean dressing on all their parts, Rei poked her head out the doorway. Samuru was nowhere to be seen, but Yuuichiro sat in front of the doorway to the meditation room with the sacred fire, as though guarding it.

"So, where is he?" Rei demanded of him, when they all made it out her door.

"Your Grandpa insisted on giving him the tour, since he's apparently never been to one of the temples before. After they went in here, Grandpa came out, but the other guys didn't. I guess he's looking around in there or something." Yuuichiro explained. That room only had one exit.

If you didn't count the one Venus made when she attacked Zio.

Luckily Rei had covered it up the night before, but what he said bothered her. "Guys? There's more than one?"

"Yeah, he had somebody with him. He was dressed a little funny, though." Yuuichiro explained, trying to maneuver some of his hair into a more manageable state.

Rei sighed. The mess was going to take some explaining, both to their guests and to her grandfather. "Ok, Yuuichiro-san. I'm sure Grandpa's waiting for you to start training with him again. We need to take care of our guest." Rei tried to shoo him off, and he did so reluctantly. Her grandfather didn't have the best eyes, but she wasn't sure if he'd miss a gaping hole in the wall that was poorly patched up overnight.

Something hit her: How was it that neither Yuuichiro nor her grandfather came out to the battle the previous night, and why had neither of them noticed the damage done to the temple in various areas?

They opened the door and stepped into the warm room, the light of the sacred fire still flickering as brightly as it used to. The silent form of their guest knelt before the fire with closed eyes. The light appeared to make him move slightly, yellow and orange flickers stretching over his face. Another man stood nearby, with his hair tied back, but unlike Samuru, his hair was a bright blue color. He bore clothing that was disturbingly similar to those worn in Elysion, but with a more modern style, and having different coloration by wearing green beneath his mantle. Midnight eyes gazed over the girls as they entered, and after smiling a moment, returned to watching over Samuru.

The room was wrong, however: the patchwork done on the wall was nowhere to be seen. There was no evidence of a hole ever being made. They gathered around, and his eyes opened, spotting the others, revealing a calm smile.

"So, what can we do for you, Samuru-san?" Ami asked, being the only one that really caught his name.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I am very self-conscious about my health, and I was still disoriented from the fight. I did not mean to leave you all behind like that. It was quite rude of me." His speech seemed to have improved overnight.

"Well, there was no need for you to come all the way up here to apologize... that's what the phone's for." Rei pointed out, knowing he didn't know her number, but getting to that point: "How did you know we were here, anyhow?"

He smiled. "After careful thought, I decided to go to the hospital as Ami-san requested. Her mother, Mizuno-san wasn't difficult to find, since they don't appear all that different." he stood from the fire, pushing himself up on his cane. "After being taken care of, I told her how I came across her daughter, and was hoping to apologize for running off like I did. She was kind enough to tell me that you were staying at this place, along with some friends."

The man behind him cleared his throat, and Samuru looked back, slapping his head in realization. "I am so sorry. This is my friend Rune-san. He is travelling with me, but I'm afraid he does not know the language." the young man bowed in greeting, hearing his name. "He believes that experience serves better than raw knowledge in this matter..."

"What matter is that?" Minako interrupted, poking her head around the others.

"The gossip has not spread yet?" he looked mildly shocked. "I will have to write that down... rumor mills are slow at the beginning of the school year." he said, writing in his notepad again. "I have been here a week, and I have already been in a fight. You would think someone would have mentioned that I am here studying education styles in different countries. We are investigating foreign schools and student behavior, how they are related, and the discipline used in the event of a lack of good behavior." he explained. It seemed logical enough. "I also came here today because I wished to interview you,  
Ami-san." he made a face, then realized his error. "Is 'Ami-san' all right, since I met your mother?"

"Yes, but... interview me?" she pointed to herself, eyes widened a little.

"Yes. You seem to be one of the most intelligent students I have come across. I would just like to ask you a few questions, if that is all right. You do not mind, do you?"

Ami mentally shrugged. It was common knowledge that her intellect was renowned in school. She thought back fondly to when she was offered to study abroad in Germany, back before she was even in high school, when she almost lost her friends, and her teammates as senshi. Who knows what would have happened to her friends, or the world, if she'd gone before now.

"Of course I don't mind. But I'm not so sure this is the right time to be doing it." she explained. It was still before noon, and weekend or not, it was still early enough to keep one groggy, and it was plain to see that she was not ready for any sort of interview.

"That is fine." He moved from the fire, his companion in step behind him as they moved toward the door. "Perhaps at lunch then?"

"Sure. We could meet at Crown cafe by the arcade. That's where most of us hang around anyhow. Do you know where that is?"

"I have seen it. That will be good. I will see you then." he waved on his way out the door.

Rei escorted the duo out while the girls got dressed properly. "I'm sorry about the conditions of the temple. We've been meaning to reset some of the stonework outside..." Rei tried to cover for the damage that they may have seen.

"Looked all right to me..." Samuru said with a puzzled look on his face, which he turned to Rune. Rune gave the same expression back to Samuru and they turned back, walking through the halls toward the exit, when she saw the courtyard herself.

Not a crack in the cement.

'This is impossible...' Rei thought, recalling the battle from the night before. 'Minako-chan's blast tore a hole in the wall in the room of the sacred fire, and now there's none. The monster had shattered the ground, but here it seems as good as the day before. It was a wonder the shrine still stood after the earthquake it caused...' It boggled the mind as to how none of it seemed to happen, when another key factor seemed to make itself known:

Where were Haruka and Michiru? Shouldn't they have been outside as well, and wouldn't they have noticed the change? And Hotaru! She was supposed to be guarding them that night! Where had she gone?

"See you later then!" Samuru called as he headed down the steps of the shrine, along with Rune. Rei snapped to, and waved, and when they were out of sight, she ran back inside to tell the others. Something was VERY wrong.

Elsewhere:

Samuru and Rune stepped into the spherical room they called home, and two others sat in the now-lit room. The center of the room held nothing more than four simple throne-like chairs, two of which were occupied, and the other two filled by Samuru and Rune. They sat in silence for a moment, before Samuru spoke.

"That proves it then." Samuru steepled his fingers in thought. "Noah... you made sure that everything was fixed so that nobody existing outside the battle remembered what happened other than the ones we encountered, right?"

Noah, the one he had named 'Rune', nodded. "While I'm quite thorough with my work, something strange happened. Their lines are odd... a few years ago they were severed... but then reattached to the tapestry... and then severed again last year, but again reattached. It's like they died, but didn't..." he held out his hands, holding a small black ball. Inside were thousands of lines intertwined, and the image was zoomed in on five, which stood out brightly. "But that's not the strangest thing... look at this..." he zoomed in on the lines showing the two knots where the lines were severed and reattached. The picture moved back to where the threads began, but they did not connect to the overall starting point, or directly from where they should have. They simply dangled there, waving back and forth, until the view moved far enough back to show why. There was a gap between the lines, from an earlier thread that was severed, and the earlier threads waved in synchronization with each other, as though connected, but separate. "I've found many strange occurances in the threads like this, but these five are the only ones that seem to have separated many times and come back together to interact. This gap is over a thousand year period..."

"...Around the time of the war of the Silver Millennium." The voice of a third, unknown man interrupted. Short black hair peeked out from beneath a white hood. "These are the survivors of the war, and they've continued to fight off the darkness that plagues this system... even at the cost of their lives. They've been reincarnated several times, but not through normal means..." he continued, staring at the orb that Noah had made.

"Chronos, glad you could join us. So these five are the ones we're looking for?" a fourth voice spoke, looking over the top of his throne. Red flames of hair shot up from his head at most points, while the rest hung heavily in tightly-wrapped dreadlocks, with tanned skin that appeared to make him of Indian or even Arabic descent. "They're the same ones we bailed out, right?"

"Yes... it would appear they can't stop their enemies anymore... not by usual means, anyhow." Samuru scratched his chin in thought, then realized the time. 'I'd better get over to the cafe... no sense in being late.' he thought. "I need to move, guys. See if you can locate any new leads on where the darkness is coming from. I'll keep an eye on the streets, and contact you if I need help." he stood, when the flame-haired, dark-skinned man jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow.

"Yeah, like what happened in the school courtyard? Give us a break, and give us a lead." he said, before Samuru made his way out.

Outside the Cafe: 11:50

"So you're sure you can trust this guy, Ami-chan? Sure you don't want at least one of us to go along?" Makoto asked, slapping her fist into her other hand.

"I'll be fine, Mako-chan. Samuru-san seems like a nice guy, despite his strength, and Rei-chan's 'wierd vibes'. He might have just done a lot of physical training. As for how he feels, I recall one time Rei-chan slapped one of her charms on Usagi-chan, thinking she was evil. I'm not saying your predictions aren't trustworthy, Rei-chan... I'm just saying that I won't base how I treat a person by how you read them." Ami waved them off, assuring the others that she'd be fine. "If anything happens, I'll be sure to contact you. You're still carrying your communicators, right?"

The others nodded, some even looking at their wrists to make sure they were still there. After their scuffle with Zio the previous night, they knew that the enemy meant business, and they'd need all their help to stop their enemy.

"While we're here, we'll check the arcade for Luna and Artemis. I'm worried. They haven't been home ever since Ami-chan had her dream, so maybe they've been checking up on our enemy. They might also know what happened to Haruka-san, Michiru-san, and Hotaru-chan." Usagi pointed out. The others stared at her in disbelief. "What!"

They sighed and parted ways, seeming to take Usagi's maturity in stride. Ami headed inside the cafe, while the others went in the arcade. Samuru already sat in a booth, sipping at a cup of tea, and seeing Ami, waved her over to sit with him.

"I am glad you could make it Ami-san. I am sorry if this seemed a little awkward, just coming out for this sort of thing, but I am very grateful that you agreed. This will help my study greatly." Samuru smiled, pulling up his notepad she saw in class a few times.

"I might imagine that it would. How did you improve so much in our language?"

He smiled and lifted the small book she saw him reading the other day. "I am a quick study."

"So it would seem. How can I help you then?" She smiled, noting he hadn't quite picked up contractions yet. She was curious and still a little flattered that she could be the basis of his paper. Was there something else? Did he like her? Leaving the green piercing gaze she was locked upon, her eyes settled upon his ungloved hand. Those thoughts of anything beyond friendship quickly vanished when she saw a ring.

Married? Perhaps engaged? His voice lifted her eyes back to attention.

"Well, I have not seen everything I might need to know, so I'll want to ask you a few things other than your own techniques and accomplishments in classes..."

The Arcade: 11:52

"I still think that guy's a little creepy, but if Ami-chan thinks she can trust him..." Rei mumbled.

"Rei-chan, you have a problem with almost any guy." Minako ribbed. "Ami-chan's a big girl, and she's smart enough to learn from a mistake she makes."

But Rei was hardly listening, focused on her thoughts instead. 'Hotaru-chan, Haruka-san, and Michiru-san are missing, and none of the outers, not even Setsuna-san, are answering their communicators. Maybe Luna and Artemis might have a clue...'

The arcade was surprisingly empty for noon on a weekend. In fact, though the doors were open, nobody was even working there. Only the sounds of the games that ran automatically could be heard. They looked around, at the ready for an attack, but there was nobody else... no bodies on the floor, no traps waiting to go off... not even an enemy.

Minako wandered over to the Sailor V game, and the others joined as well, staring at the console. The screen showed the view of a third person format instead of a side scroller, and the screen held the monster they'd fought the previous night, continually trading fire with each other, when a blast connected and destroyed Sailor V, and the game got caught in a continuous feedback loop, showing the same scene of the senshi getting blasted, the laughing of the monster, and 'GAME OVER' flashing in red on the screen. They were used to the game continually updating itself to aid their training, but this was beyond strange. The machine suddenly made a loud pop and the screen went black, smoke pouring out the top. Minako popped open the game console, and inside, to their dismay, was nothing but the command station they used to use, deactivated, and still smoking. No Luna or Artemis.

"What the hell is going on?" Makoto asked no one in particular.

The Cafe: 11:56

"...you must be kidding! I had thought teachers kept better discipline over themselves! So she actually gave them detentions, made them stay, and left to go on a date instead of watching them?" Samuru scribbled in his notepad furiously, threatening to rip a hole in the page from pressing too hard.

Ami laughed at how silly it seemed. She had no intent of telling him about the twin aliens of the Doom Tree, but it was probably necessary to help him in his report. Besides, she didn't need to tell him 'everything'. "Needless to say they finished their papers and went home afterwards, but I don't know if either of them spoke up about it, because Haruna-sensei never got a reprimand."

"Teenagers do not usually like to do that sort of thing, especially at their age, trying to go against their superiors. So what about you? Did you ever live on the dangerous side and accidentally fall asleep in class, or perhaps..." he whispered quietly. "Do less than your best?"

Now she knew he wasn't being serious. They both laughed heartily, and as the laughter died, Ami decided to soothe her curiosity. "Samuru-san... I hope I'm not being rude in asking, but you're married and still in school?"

He blinked at the question and looked down at his hand, realizing why she'd asked. His gloved hand reached for the ring and rubbed the surface of the ring gently. "I was engaged a while ago, but she passed away. I wear it as a reminder."

Ami held a sorrowful look and lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry, it wasn't right of me to ask. I should have just..."

He put down his writing tools and took her hands in his own. She looked up suddenly, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "Do not worry about it. I wear it to remind myself. I promised I would never forget her. It is nothing to feel bad about."

Ami hardly heard his words, though. Why couldn't she feel warmth from his gloved hand? And where was that high-pitched whine coming from?

The sound filled the room slowly, growing louder with each passing moment. Samuru seemed to notice it as well, and after searching for a moment, they looked out in the street to see a blackened portal-shaped hole of mist swirl and form. Without warning, a massive blur flew through the portal and crashed through the glass of the cafe. Never stopping in its swift onslaught, a large, black hand grabbed Samuru's face and mashed his head through the wall of the booth, and through the snack bar. Screams echoed as people rushed to get away from the scene, too terrified to be fascinated, the distinct sound of dozens of feet crushing broken glass accompanying the fading echo of screams. Ami had only managed to stand, staring at the monster that now pressed Samuru's head into the wall.

A heavily muscled, scaley, deep blue creature with tubes protruding from its back floated there, as it seemed to have no lower half of its body below the hip. It let Samuru go before turning itself around to see Ami still watching. She went to press her communicator, when two small eye-beams blasted the wristband, causing it to fall to the ground. Her wrist burned slightly, and she dared not pick up the communicator from what she saw of the creature's face. It held the face of the demon from her dream, an emotionless mask of blackened eyes and toothy maw. It's fists clenched as it approached her, its mouth opening.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Samuru screamed as he jumped over to the creature's side and kicked off the ground, his heel connecting with its jaw, turning its head toward the wall of the arcade when a blast erupted from its open mouth.

The Arcade: 11:59

"Guys, something is definitely wrong. Luna and Artemis are missing, as well as all the outers, and even the command center is wrecked. We need to start sticking closer together than before, because I have a feeling we're being picked off one at a time..." Rei explained to them. "...Tuxedo Mask is gone too, so maybe our friend in black knows something about the others..." the muffled sound of shattering glass and screams stopped Rei's words, and when moving toward the front of the arcade to see, the wall that separated the cafe and the arcade disintigrated in an explosion, the blast continuing on a devastating course, hitting the next wall and destroying that as well. The girls ducked for cover, and came back up to see the monster, Ami, and a very messed-up looking Samuru. Blood was streaked down his face and neck, and a look of horror was plastered there too.

His kick had hardly made the monster flinch.

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TBC. 


	8. Chapter 8

The End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: Stranger and stranger, is it not? Where did all the outers go? Where were all the people in the arcade? Why are monsters always after Sam? How the hell did he even get up from that? Questions abound, no doubt... and hopefully most will be answered soon.

I hope you enjoyed the last long chapter, making up for the time I hadn't been writing. I hope it wasn't too long to follow. I don't want to lose any readers because there's too much shit flying around in the story. One might ask: 'Where the hell is he going with this storyline?'. The reason it doesn't seem to be going anywhere is because this is going to be one long-ass story, which you should have known from the initial author's notes. If you don't like long-ass stories, click on that little X in the upper right of the screen. That's the door. Don't let it hit you in the ass. If the story's too long or too friggin' deep for you, or if it warps your child's mind because they were bad, and you wanna blame me for it, I'll be glad to tell you where you can go.

This chapter finally achieves the R rating, for cursing, gore, and violent death. If you don't like it, switch to the G rated section. If your child loses sanity for reading a story he shouldn't be reading, don't yell at me. Talk to them. They're the ones that fucked up.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 7:

'Run.'

Every instinct in Ami's body told her to haul ass out of sight, at least until she could transform, or find the others. Just the other day she saw this man almost single-handedly take out a fairly large patrol of monsters bare-handed. Today, he seemed to make no more of a dent in the creature than the average human might. Even as she thought and calculated how it was possible, her mind still screamed at her to run at the same time.

And still, she wouldn't budge.

The massive black claw of the monster wrapped around the blood drenched face of Sam below his nose, clamping along his jaw. It held him there for what seemed like an eternity, seemingly trying to crush his head, when it began to notice the movement of Ami slowly backing out of the cafe.

"Going somewhere?"

She jumped with a small scream. She hardly expected the thing to talk with such an appearance, even though thousands of monsters talked before... none of them spoke sense.

"I have come offering a truce, princess of Mercury. We chose you because you are the smartest. The others will listen to you." A deep voice that sounded of a record playing too slow worked past its flapping, drooling jaw.

Now this was rich, and kept getting better. The enemy, asking THEM for help? She composed herself, her eyes darting to Sam every few moments, to assure he was still alive. She relaxed a bit, her hand secretly holding her transformation crystal. "Go on."

"We have a common enemy. The children of destiny hunt us both... light and darkness alike. This being I hold is one of them, trying to get you separate from the others in your group. He's already claimed some others... one of which was an accident on your part: the man in the tuxedo."

The others hid behind an arcade console, listening to the conversation they heard. Ami fumed. "An accident on our part? That huge monster blasted a hole right through him!"

Its gaze never broke the stare it gave her, as it did not seem equipped with eyelids. "While Zio and the Dark Force WERE a bit overzealous, it was your friends that struck first. He had come to speak of the truce, but I suppose his intentions were never known.  
What I refer to as your accident was letting them take him."

She thought back to the previous night, and the words Zio said. 'In announcing he was there, he never mentioned battle, and he did indeed comment on not choosing to fight... no! They're the enemy! They want us dead! But... why is he talking to me, then?' Her mind tossed it over. The group of monsters that went after Samuru could have easily went after them, if they were interested, because it was obvious they knew who the senshi were, if they knew who she was, even if she didn't transform. "I'll accept that, for now. Why do they want us?"

"I'm not sure why they want you and your kind. But they want our kind dead. Your numbers have decreased since then. The four that aided you in last night's battle are gone, as well as the wounded one."

"It makes sense." Rei whispered to the others. "Even though this creature may be our enemy, we should think about this. Uranus and Neptune would have been picked off first, since they were guarding the temple. Pluto hasn't answered our call, so we can only assume the worst. Saturn, since she was awake and over us, was the only threat, and would have easily been intercepted if they knew enough about her, and that she can't use her total power. Samuru-san and that other guy were at the temple this morning, which seems to make them suspects, but why weren't we taken? We were asleep, and easy targets!" The others nodded, turning their attention back to the trio. They needed to know more.

Ami didn't know who to believe. Samuru couldn't exactly defend his status, since he was restrained. This monster's appearance was hardly trustworthy either, upon the fact that it was a creature of darkness, and bore the face of their destroyer.

Meanwhile, Samuru had worked his mouth above the creature's hand, having been holding on to it all the while. He could call the others, but then what? His cover was already blown. The senshi would demand answers. Who was to say they'd be able to beat this monster either? Noah's abilities would be fairly useless, as the powers he was struggling to perfect were still underdeveloped, and were no match for a creature of this magnitude of strength. Chronos wouldn't stand much of a chance either, as his abilities affected indirectly. Ares...

Ares.

Ares was too loose of a cannon without the others, but he was the best bet. He almost called to him, when the problem still presented itself...

What would he tell them after?

S.N.A.F.U.

'The mission's fucked... I suppose I'll have to handle this myself.' he thought, feeling a little light-headed from blood loss and a possible concussion. 'There's no way to walk away and still have trust.' He let go of the creature's arm and reached for his cane behind the creature, which leapt to his hand by will. As they spoke, he twisted it with a soft 'click', and noiselessly slipped a long blade from its previous holding. Ami could see what he was doing, and thankfully hadn't made a spectacle of it. 'Thank goodness she's only stalling.'

"Falz..." Samuru managed to force through his now-crushed throat, standing on tiptoe, with his arms hidden behind him. The creature's head snapped to attention at its name being called, and screamed violently as its eye was punctured by the thin blade, tar-like ooze crawling towards the handle of the rapier. Still it refused to let go. "Motean, zeto echak!" he gurgled, and his gloved fingers tore through the tips of said glove and extended. He jabbed at its forearm repeatedly, piercing the bluish-black flesh. It dropped Samuru, who gasped for a moment as the monster cradled its damaged eye.

"We do not want them dead." he struggled, re-sheathing the sword into his cane, and his fingers somehow retracted back into its glove. "We have been allies for more than a millennia with them, a silent treaty paid in worship, protection, and blood. Beryl's forces were formidable a thousand years ago, and we stopped as much of their army as we could before they reached the moon kingdom. How DARE you try such underhanded tricks against my charges!" he growled, almost sounding inhuman as he managed to recover a bit.

Ami had scrambled outside and over to the arcade, to see the senshi in hiding behind an arcade console. She made sure not to be noticed and crawled low until she reached them.

"Ami-chan, are you ok?" Usagi whispered, hugging her first senshi friend.

"I'm fine... but have you heard all this? I didn't know who to trust." the others nodded and watched as Samuru mopped the blood from his face with a tissue and pocketed it. He lifted the cane, his eyes glowing green, and acrid black smoke poured from the orb atop it, slithering around his body like a tattered, tortured serpent. It settled and dispersed, to show Samuru in the garb of Thanatos. He slammed the end of the cane into the ground and it extended, a large blade snapping from the top like a switchblade.

The monster growled, still cradling its right eye with an overly-big hand. "Even if they trust you, it doesn't matter. The Profound Darkness is coming. She's found a way out, and she'll employ it soon. Without the Great Light to stop her, she'll conquer all! None will stand in her path! My destruction means nothing!"

It lunged and managed to get a fast swipe in, the uninjured claw of the beast connected and knocked the white-plastic mask clear off, only to show a void beneath, the green glow of his eyes floating in the blackness. "Your destruction means nothing? Good." the doubled voice echoed beneath the black tattered cloak as the scythe swept around, cleaving the monster in two from shoulder to hip. It gurgled, black oozing from its mouth, before the top half slid toward the ground, and the monster exploded in a shower of dust.

Thanatos sighed, ready to answer any question. His scythe retracted, and he put the cane inside his cloak and picked up his mask, turning around to find no Ami there.

"Damn..." he said after a moment, replacing his white plastic 'face'. "Perhaps Setsuna-san will break her silence on the matter for me..." he thought to phase out of existence, when he heard the crunch of glass. He looked over to the sound to find the five inner senshi,  
transformed, with arms crossed.

"No need to ask her to." Jupiter told him.

"We're right here." Mars said.

"But it might be nice if we knew where you hid her." Venus pointed out.

"As well as the others." Sailor Moon added.

Mercury only stared in silence at the sad green eyes that glowed out beneath the mask. He nodded. "Come with me, and... and I'll explain it... all..." he said, floating lazily out from the cafe before hunching over and collapsing, hitting the ground with a sickening thud, his cloak dissipating to reveal an unconscious Samuru.

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BWAHAHA! TBC! XD (I need to lay off the caffiene.) 


	9. Chapter 9

The End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: I've now officially started posting this story in other places. I'm not saying where just yet, but you'll know if you're reading this ANYWHERE other than Fanfiction dot net (for some reason, it erases if I put in the actual name)

Ok, you're gonna start reading this and be like... 'What the f...?' Don't worry, I'm just getting back to something I sort of forgot about back in chapter four. This chapter will also explain a lot of things many of you are wondering about, or just said 'What the f...?' to. Just go with it. Trust me. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 8:

Cold.

So cold.

His eyes opened in a darkened room, and there was a soft light eminating above his head. Unaware of how he got where he was, he realized his breathing was not his own, as an oxygen mask was over his face.

Then he remembered.

'The blast...'

Mamoru knew that one day his distracting the darkness from the true threat would get him killed. 'That monster in the sky was the same one that destroyed most of the moon kingdom before... at least the same type.' he thought, closing his eyes again. He went to feel for the wound, only to find his arms bound to the table.

'Great.' he thought. 'I guess the senshi won through... I must be in the hospital.'

He went to shout, but found he had no voice, as his breathing was controlled. With only one lung to power him, he needed all his breath. He attempted to look about for someone or something to gain attention, but he found his head also restrained. He grunted in frustration, fighting his bonds, when cool, soothing hands laid on his shoulders.

"Relax, Prince Endymion." a man's voice whispered, a voice as soothing as the hands upon him. "You were badly wounded in battle, and you are poisoned with the power of the black wave. I am slowing its course through your body until a cure can be found. We met long ago in Elysion. I am Chronos, master of time."

Mamoru's mouth opened to protest, but closed again. He felt the soft hum of Chronos' energies slowing down all of his bodily functions. He relaxed. 'Pluto knows Chronos. They must be safe, and fine, if I'm here.'

Somewhere far away:

A black, writhing, formless mass sat with infinite patience, gazing through a crack in her dimensional prison. Her warriors had done well. They'd destroyed part of the seal on her prison. They'd corrected her children, who co-existed with creatures of light. They'd wiped out almost an entire solar system of creatures of light in one fell swoop. They were slowly but surely killing off the inhabitants of the planets in this system.

Ever since her counterpart, the Great Light, had sealed her inside this dimensional hole, and then self-terminated, her war had continued. For the longest time, she had been winning once again. Chaos, her proud, powerful general, had been given the will to regenerate many times through the power of the cauldron, and had managed to send many powerful creations to destroy the last vestiges of light.

But somehow they were able to turn these monsters away. Metallia was sealed away for a long time, then destroyed. She'd influenced reverse timeflow so that the future darkness would attack the past, but was defeated with the same manipulation. She had Nehelenia released to overtake the planet they resided upon, but was once more sealed away. She even had Chaos herself possess the most powerful protector to wipe out the rest, only to have her purged and returned to the dark cauldron of Algo, as well as restore all the protectors! It was time she took revenge. When she was loose, they would -all- suffer.

A tiny form materialized next to her... tiny, in respect that her form was huge. The man-shaped figure kneeled before her, his head lowered.

'Report.' she mentally projected, with a faint echo of her words following.

"I was unable to destroy them, my queen." Zio's voice was too small, or perhaps, insignificant to echo, as he knelt, awaiting punishment.

'And why is that, Zio? Have I not given you all the power you require? I have given you one of my mighty Dark Force to command, no less! Why do you return bringing me news of FAILURE!' the word echoed endlessly, bouncing off invisible walls again and again, until the word faded enough that he could speak.

"My queen... two other warriors were able to destroy the illusion of your Dark Force... I would not have had enough time to fend them off and re-summon it. These two were far more powerful, and their powers were different!"

'SILENCE!' the mental voice roared again, though no mouth was apparent. The blackness seemed to have no physical shape, or discernable face. 'Tell me... what did these warriors look like?'

Zio raised his arms, and a holographic image appeared over him, replaying the battle for her to watch through his eyes. He winced at the stupidity of forgetting the blond haired one, when the chain caught about his neck, and pulled him off his feet. Her black form watched silently as their plan to destroy the monster had succeeded temporarily, and still remained silent when his gaze fell on the duo piercing the Dark Force's eyes, and dissipating it. The illusion faded, and silence echoed eerily in the void, Zio almost wanting her to give punishment, for the silence seemed much more painful.

'You are forgiven, Zio. Remain on Motavia, and continue with your plans there. Dismissed.' she spoke after a few moments.

"Thank you my queen, for understanding." he bowed, and disappeared.

'Ares. Thanatos.' she thought, bringing up the image again, staring at the flaming red armor and the tattered black cloak. 'So that's how they were able to defeat my forces. I thought I corrected your simplistic urges to live amongst and protect the creatures of light last time my power was freed. Looks like I'll just have to correct you again.'

Meanwhile:

"I wonder if he'll be all right? He looks like he got pretty banged up." Minako mumbled, looking up from an old fashion magazine in the hospital waiting room.

Makoto was sprawled over the chair, a little winded from helping to carry the brunt of Samuru's weight. "He ought to be ok. I've seen people come away with worse wounds. What I don't get is how he could have been so damn heavy! He's a little taller than I am, but he's not all that big."

Ami hardly heard them, as she was focused upon her own thoughts, and the notepad Samuru had dropped. Within were no notes which she thought he'd been taking, but rather sketches of the Mercury symbol and what appeared to be her, but garbed in a princess' dress, as well as scribbles in the very same language from the message. What surprised her the most was a rather detailed picture of her in her Mercurian dress, but in the arms of Samuru, dressed in an odd-looking uniform, and she saw that even in this picture he wore a single black glove. Was this his feelings for her, or possibly part of her past? Was the ring on his hand in rememberence of her, as he had mentioned? Could that have been why he seemed focused on her? She fought off the blush flooding to her face, 'If it's from those old days, they must have been some powerful feelings!'

There was no doubt now that the message on her communicator was from Samuru. He had warned her that the enemy was after them specifically. He had told them to stay together, and now nearly half the team was missing. Worst of all, she had almost listened to the enemy, who'd attempted to turn them against him. The sad pools of jade that glowed beneath his cloak as he watched her moments before he collapsed let her know that he felt betrayed by that most of all. When her mother came out with a look of concern she feared all the worse.

"He's suffered a mild concussion and he requred a few stitches, but the rest will heal in time. He's been asking to see you girls even before we started. You all can come back to see him now, if you like." her mother told them as they moved back to the room he was in. Her concerned face now held perplexion on it as well. "Ami-chan, did you know he had a prosthetic limb?"

"Well, he does walk with a cane, but I didn't really think about it..." she started, when her mother stopped her.

"His leg isn't prosthetic. It's his arm. I don't know where it was done, but it's fantastic! It has no skin coloration... that's why he wore that glove, but the hand moves as intricately as a real one!" she told them as though it were a medical breakthrough, opening the door to the room, where he lay in bed, his head bandaged. Samuru was wide awake, and gave Ami a knowing look.

"Mom, do you think we could talk to him for a few minutes?" She asked, hoping the senshi would have privacy for the meeting.

"Sure. Just let me know when you're done." she said, moving off to tending other patients.

They turned about to see Samuru unwinding the wrap around his head, and Ami got a good look at the 'prosthetic wonder' her mother had gone on about. His left forearm was simply discolored, a silverish bronze tinge to it, with flexable joints that made it look more machine. Peeling the last of the gauze away, he pulled the stiches out and clasped the wound, his real hand glowing briefly before he removed it, with no wound remaining. He reached for his cane and his glove, as he'd seen to getting dressed already. The black smoke poured forth from the cane once more and transformed him into Thanatos, and he held out his black gloved hand to the girls.

"Come. It's time to take you to the others."

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TBC. 


	10. Chapter 10

The End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, to all my wonderful readers! Unfortunately, sometime during early December, my hard drive gasped its last breath, and with it, took my only copy of chapters 10 and 11. I've since had to re-write it from memory. It's not easy.

I'm also moving out to a college dorm, so the workload may be overbearing to the point where I will not be able to write as often. Fun.

Oh, for those that don't already know, I plan to draw manga for this fanfic once I have some time, and I'm also going to be doing a sprite comic as well. If ANYONE has sprite sheets for Sailor Moon: Another Story, or knows where to find them, please give me a buzz. This includes character sprites, backgrounds, whatever you think will help. This is really hurtin' me not having them to make the sprite comic.

Flame Ivy Moon, would you mind emailing me? Not that I mind the reviews, but they seem to be lacking in the 'review' department. All you're doing is asking for more, and that will easily come if you've been reading the author's notes. This story is already complete, I'm just taking my sweet time posting it again. An actual review would help. Heck, even saying WHAT you like/expect from the story would be nice.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos is © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 9:

'Moment of truth...' Thanatos thought, his gloved hand outstretched to the five girls. 'I have no doubt that they have misgivings about me, but they have to trust me if they're going to survive.'

"What others?" Usagi asked, with her arms crossed. "Is Mamo-chan there?"

"Yes. He, along with the other four are where we're headed... training under my brother Ares and defending the time gate with Chronos. We revealed the truth to the others, though they were quite stubborn to accept it..." Thanatos' scythe shot out once more from the elongated cane, and the sound of ripping fabric could be heard when he swung it behind him. Pulling reality away like a drapery, he revealed a misty area to the senshi, who looked on as he retracted his weapon.

"That looks like the area before the time gate." Rei pointed out. "How can death use an ability of time?"

"I require the use of Chronos' abilities to complete my job. We four require each other. If the concepts we stand for did not exist, then neither could life. Just as time passes to make a person old enough to die, death requires time's abilities to be able to handle all beings everywhere that require its assistance at that moment. But enough prattle! I implore you, sailor senshi, we need your assistance!"

"Why do you need us?" Makoto asked. "You guys are more powerful than we are, right? So what good could we be?"

"The reason we ask for your assistance is not just for our benefit, but for yours. Beings of light are a dying race. Around a millennia ago this galaxy was literally filled with beings of light. In a mere day, those numbers dwindled to a handful, and only a few were sent to be reborn. Unfortunately, not everyone made it." the jade eyes disappeared for a moment, but then re-opened. "Some were sent right out of the galaxy... some are still travelling, because they've encountered no mass to be reborn on... some became senshi of these new worlds... and some could not be reborn. You ten were fortunate that you were able to land on this world, as-intended."

"We know all this!" Minako pointed her finger against the 'nose' area of the mask he wore. "What do you mean for our benefit too?"

"They're coming. They came for you last night, and they'll come again." Thanatos remained calm, easing the finger from his mask. "The darkness is systematically wiping out all existence of the creatures of light, and destroying the cauldrons they spawn from. If you stay here, you won't stand a chance. You saw how little you were able to do against Zio and the Dark Force. They are mere underlings for what we face." Silence was a jagged razor at the edge of his words. "If you will not join us in this battle, then so be it. I understand if you wish to remain."

Makoto was the first to step forward. "Anyone who can trash monsters with their bare hands is ok in my book!" and she slapped her hand on his metal one, wincing slightly from the sting.

Usagi was the next to step forward, and place her hand atop Makoto's. "I need to make sure Mamo-chan is fine... and it's my duty as a sailor senshi to defend not just my world, but everything from evil!"

Rei's hand settled on Usagi's. "Our enemies are the same, and now they've found a way to hide from me, I need to know what's going on... especially since they tried to even get us to join them!"

Minako's tone shifted from frustration to mirth, and her hand alit upon Rei's. "Who would listen to the enemy anyway?"

All eyes fell on Ami.

She hadn't said a word since she dismissed her mother. Minako's words stung, but no worse than the look Thanatos had given her before he'd collapsed. 'He must have felt so betrayed when I was speaking with the enemy... speaking as though HE were the enemy... but what choice did I have?' her mind rushed with inner turmoil, when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Thanatos, looking back down to her.

Suddenly, she heard something. It was faint, but it was there. It was her memories of her nightmare encounters with Thanatos. But some weren't from her dreams. Some came as real memories. Conversations that were once blurred as she ran to the battlefield and beyond were clear as crystal.

'...we were once close...'

'...my first real friend...'

'...shouldn't be able to see me...'

'...they won't let me see you again...'

'...politics keeps us apart, maybe it can bring us together...'

'...Ares tells me his second sight for battles is diminishing...'

'...a war is brewing under our noses...'

'...Pluto's become a dead world...'

'...I'll be back... I promise...'

...promise...

...promise...

"Still only fragments, aren't they?" Thanatos' voice interrupted the last memory. Every memory, in one way or another, held Thanatos in the past. "Ami-san... we trusted each other long ago. I ask that we honor that trust again..." he released his grip on her shoulder and offered his real hand. A smile lurked under his hood somewhere, and his eyes no longer held sorrow.

She reached out her hand, teary-eyed and smiling, when she blinked back the tears, removed her smile, and hesitated. "What about my mother? We can't just leave! There will be a search out for you if you disappear, and we'll be asked questions, since we're the last ones to have been with you!"

"Noah will take care of that... he's quite good at changing things. Once he does, none of us will have been here in anyone else's mind." he assured her. His hand beckoned once more, and being somewhat unsure, she took it. "Thank you all... we must go now, to visit Chronos will be our first stop."

He glided through the rift, followed by the senshi, which promptly sealed behind them as they passed through. The misty entrance to the time gates made it difficult to see as always. The senshi transformed to be recognized as worthy to pass, and they followed in Thanatos' wake, only to stop short in front of the gate. The senshi peered around the black cloak.

The door was open.

A body lay on the ground before the entrance.

"PLUTO!"

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Heh heh... TBC, punks. 


	11. Chapter 11

The End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Note: Well, college sure is keeping me busy.

I don't really have a lot to say for this author's note, aside from ONE major thing.

Chapter 11 will be the last chapter of this fic. How is this possible, you ask? It will constitute the end of the first book in the series. Did you already forget?

Also, I apologize if chapter 11 is especially long (even moreso than previous long chapter), but it originally contained chapter 10 as well, and I hoped to finish this book with few questions.

Disclaimer: I don't own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be animated or a manga or both and you wouldn't be reading it right now. Thanatos and all other characters are © Xian Shade, and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

Guardian's Return, Chapter 11:

Chronos was hardly one you'd call 'impatient'. His abilities went far beyond precognition, and yet, here he was, signalling guardian Pluto again. Still, she did not answer, and he couldn't understand why. She'd failed to report recently, and he'd checked the timeline to make sure nobody got past her and made any changes.

There were none.

Then he considered it to be a mechanical error. In previous centuries, the rift between the dimensions of time negated virtually all electronic communication, and most definitely telepathic communication. It was why he was oblivious to the destruction of the solar system he called home. Changes were made to correct the problem, but it still had bugs now and again. In checking, he found the signal was fine, and the technology had no problem. Then he heard sound on the receiver of his communicator.

"-Chronos? This is Thanatos. You all right?-"

"Thanatos? Sure, I'm fine. Where are you?"

"-I'm at the entrance to the time gate with the inner senshi. Pluto's down, and the gate's doors are wide open. Can you find out if anyone's altered destiny yet?-"

"No wonder I couldn't contact her... I did check, but I'll check again, and double-check with Noah..."

Meanwhile, Thanatos waited patiently, and Pluto groaned, rousing from unconsciousness. She held a gash on her head, her dark green hair was splashed with red to make an ugly black blotch. The senshi stood as Mercury knelt by her and tried to staunch the bleeding wound.

"-Thanatos? Chronos here. Everything checks out fine. No part of destiny has been altered through the time gate.-"

"No change?" he asked, perplexed. "That's odd. Why would they attack Pluto, open the door, and not change the past?" he thought aloud while pacing. It seemed slightly humorous to the senshi though, since there were no legs below the cloak doing the pacing... even if they couldn't understand a word he was saying.

"-I'm not entirely sure myself. The only reas--" the signal cut off suddenly from Chronos' end.

"Chronos? Chronos, come in."

No reply.

"Damn... stupid interdimensional time rift... the communicators have always had problems here..." He sighed and sat with the senshi, next to Pluto. "Can you remember anything that happened?"

Pluto nodded. "Some strange beings attempted to pass. They ignored my questions and attempted to push past. I managed to dispatch a group, and one or two close-range... but one knocked me against the door... and they just went through it."

Mercury paled. "Is there anywhere, or anytime else they may have gone when they went through?"

Thanatos looked through the door. The path was basically straight-on, with branching paths further down on each side, warping colors and walls stretching for mile after mile, the colors enough to drive someone mad if they stared long enough. "Well from what I know of the time gates, they couldn't have gone anywhere except all the way to their destination. Since time isn't relevant here, it doesn't matter how much sooner or later after we came in here... they'd already have arrived in the time they wished."

Venus didn't follow. "Say again?"

"They went in, they're already where they want to be, and we can't find them." Mercury simplified.

"But Chronos definitely said there was no tampering with the timeframe. He even said Noah confirmed it. Perhaps they got disoriented and lost, or..." Thanatos was going in circles over the concept. Then, his pacing stopped. He looked at his communicator again. "Chronos, come in!" Still no reply.

"What's wrong?" Sailor Moon asked, noting the change in his tone, even without understanding him.

"It's possible that they went after Chronos himself! If they can manage to overwhelm him, they can force him to allow them access to the future! The time gates can't take you there without the proper authorization, because otherwise they'd just head into the past!"

They dashed through the gate along the warping colored corridor.

"Why would they want access to the future?" Jupiter asked while running.

"It's possible they want to find out whether they'll be successful in bringing back the Profound Darkness, and what they may do to prevent any interference!" He replied, floating quickly along, then Thanatos side-stepped into a section of the colored wall that looked to go far off in the distance instead of right in front of them, and disappeared. The others stopped, until his masked and hooded face poked through the 'wall'.

"Come on! This way!"

They shrugged, and Mars stepped carefully through first, and felt her stiletto heel sink as her foot hit...

"...sand?"

The rest stepped through and found themselves surrounded by black sky, freezing air, and white sand. A crumbled castle stood mostly-buried in the sand, and they stared at it for a moment before seeing something hurtle over the front wall. A frightened scream eminated from the flying object before it impacted with the sand, accompanied by the resounding snap of its neck. The creature dissipated in the chill wind, confirming Thanatos' suspicion. They were after Chronos. But at that thought, Chronos stepped out from atop the battlements, and floated down from the perch he'd stood upon.

"Sorry about the radio silence, but I had some uninvited guests." Chronos smiled under his white cloak's cover. His garb seemed much more kept than Thanatos', and he did not float constantly. Short black hair peeked out from under the hood, and he'd almost appear to be a priest of Elysion by the appearance of his uniform.

Pluto then kneeled before him. "I have failed as guardian of the time gate. I await your punishment, Chronos-sama..."

"It is indeed not the first time you have mishandled your duties as guardian." Chronos' smile faded as he spoke, and he placed a hand upon her head, reverting the wound to an earlier time, where it was healed. "I hereby relieve you of duty as guardian... to help your friends, who will need your abilities more than I. Your abilities shall remain intact until you prove your worth otherwise, and show that you are once again capable of handling the title of guardian of time."

Pluto's eyes closed, and a single tear slid down her face. He was still giving her a chance, despite her failure. He removed his hand, and she wiped her face clear, standing before him with a determined look. But she was greeted with something unexpected: Chronos embraced her, wrapping her in the folds of the cloak.

"I'm fortunate I did not lose my guardian, though. Remain safe, Setsuna-chan." he whispered to her, and her sad expression managed a smile and a peck on the cheek, before the collective throat-clearing of the others could be heard. He released her, and they turned to the rest of the senshi.

"Ahem... so they're all taken care of, then? That seemed awfully fast, even for you." Thanatos mumbled, trying to change the subject.

"Ahh, indeed it was. I had some help." he gestured to the castle entrance, where someone stood.

"I was wondering if I'd have to stand here all day before you gave my introduction." a familiar voice's shout echoed from across the sand between them, and the figure walked into view.

What approached them was what they hardly expected.

"Chibi-Usa!" the inners ran over to her, but she wasn't as they remembered. She was a teenager now, almost fully grown, and long bushes of cotton candy hair streamed down from pointed buns atop her head, now looking very much like her mother. They gabbed and bubbled excitedly, while Chronos, Thanatos, and Pluto stood back, watching the reunion.

Suddenly, she looked past her one-time guardians towards the others, and paled. "YOU! I won't let you hurt us again!" She drew a heavy, decorated sword from her side and pushed past the senshi, leaping into the air and slashing down at Thanatos. He caught the blade in his artificial hand, and was dumbfounded to see it was sparking from damage. Pluto and the inners tried to pry her away, but she'd gotten much stronger than her child-like form.

"Lady Serenity, what's gotten into you!" Pluto demanded, no longer using the nickname 'small lady' since the girl was hardly that anymore. She struggled with the others until the sword was wrenched from her, still imbedded in Thanatos' own hand.

"It's him! He's the one that attacked me all those years ago in my dreams! Sailor Moon, you remember! You fought him! Let me GO!" she struggled with shuddering anger and fear.

Sailor Moon thought it over, looking at Thanatos once again. 'Even Chibiusa-chan thinks it's him...' she thought. "...but, Chibiusa-chan... Thanatos is a friend of ours. He's not that monster I fought. Please, just relax!" she held her future daughter in a hug that drained her anger, and she collapsed from exertion. Usagi hardly believed her own words, though. Jaakoku had invaded Chibiusa's dreams, much like Thanatos had with Ami. Jaakoku himself was nearly unstoppable until Chibi-usa allowed them to defeat him through belief that they 'could', much like Thanatos was. And just how powerful was Thanatos outside in the physical realm? The coincidence was too difficult not to question.

Thanatos just stood there, examining the weapon stuck in his hand, then wrenched it free, seeing sparks fly from the wound to the external structure and internal circuitry. "We must have been successful, then."

"What are you talking about?" Venus asked.

"This weapon appears to be made of a Laconia, but only partially, as though an alloy. Laconia is a highly dense mineral only found in the system of our destination, and a VERY small amount resided on Mercury, which was used to develop my hand." he explained.

"But that sword's been around since before the fall of the Moon kingdom." Sailor Mercury stated, examining the sword, and taking note of what Thanatos said regarding his hand. "In fact, the markings indicate it's the very same one from that time period. Chibiusa-chan,  
where did you get this?"

"Sailor Venus gave it to me when I finished my training. She said it was an excellent weapon, but I didn't know it was that old!" she explained.

"So much for hopeful thinking." Thanatos cursed inwardly at the damage done to his hand. It didn't hurt, but his fingers refused to move. It was useless until he got it repaired.

Chibiusa looked dejected as she took the weapon from him. "I'm sorry, but you looked so much like him... I just sorta lost it." she resheathed the sword, and Thanatos examined his hand further, lost in thought for a moment. 'It's quite possible I AM the being they fought, since so many have confused me with this 'Jaakoku'. This girl is from the future... No creature truly knows their predestined future except Noah.' He wanted to contemplate it further, but he snapped from the daze and turned over his now-useless hand, hoping the communicator still worked.

"Ares, are you there?" Nothing but static greeted him on the receiving end. "Ares, come in." still nothing.

"Shit... Chronos, you call him, this thing's usele-"

"--fft-res here. We're having a little trouble, T. Nothing I can't handle, but would you care to lend a hand?-" The sounds of battle were muffled in the background, as was the scream of a monster being impaled by the communicator.

Thanatos smiled under his hood, relieved it still worked. "We're on our way."

Chronos held up a hand. "I must remain and tend to Earth's prince. He's still ill."

Sailor Moon stepped toward Chronos. "Please take care of him... I imagine he'd be more than happy to help us."

"Bring him to 'Destiny'. We're better equipped to care for him there." Thanatos spoke, fully aware that the girls didn't know what 'Destiny' referred to. Chronos simply nodded and drifted backwards, fading out to do his secondary duty, and Thanatos ripped another hole into the time dimension, then once everyone was through, ripped another into a rocky heated world, which the senshi continued to follow.

He stopped them, holding his arms out, and some of them crashed into him, and each other.

Usagi protested, holding her face, which had hit his metallic arm. "What's the big id--"

The rest of her sentence was lost to the sound of a world-shaking blast winding past them, tearing up the rocky terrain, and eventually bowling over a small army of monsters a short distance away.

"What took you so long?" Sailor Uranus smirked, pulling her fist from the ground, then standing with Neptune, Saturn, and the war-monger Ares. The battlements of his already-ruined castle were well-worn and smoking, having faced both a recent and an ancient seige. He seemed to glow as red as the planet around him, and Rei knelt down and sifted some of the loose gravel in her hands.

"Home..." she mouthed silently.

"Good to see you again, Reianna..." Ares stepped forward, sheathing his weapon. "That should be the last of them. The invasion this time was pathetic. I apologize for not helping you with any earlier information... but I can only share what I know, or am not bound to keep hidden. Thanatos, or Samuru-san, as you knew him, asked me to keep silent on his identity for security reasons."

"I suppose I can understand. We have to remain incognito in our normal lives too. Where are these creatures coming from?" Rei asked, getting a little annoyed with their enemy.

"It's strange, actually." Ares motioned for them to follow him inside the castle. "When you eliminated Chaos two years ago, negative activity bottomed out almost completely, and a good deal of light activity was restored. Then about six months ago, it all started again: the resurfacing of creatures of darkness, and the elimination of creatures of light. Noah hadn't sensed any trace before that sudden activity, so they must be spawning from the opening seal." Ares explained.

"What seal?" Sailor Moon asked.

"The source of your troubles is sealed in a dimensional hole which your enemy has affectionately called the negaverse, though we refer to it as the dark cauldron. Its interior is quite large, which is why they gave it such a name. Like Chaos, the prisoner inside creates small duplicates of itself to release upon our universe. One of those duplicates was Chaos itself. Beryl's forces, as well as Metallia herself were sealed in a smaller version of the dark cauldron here on Earth. Thankfully, Metallia didn't get free before you were ready." Ares led them inside the castle, walking the earthen stone halls.

"This larger dimensional prison is sealed with a small solar system of three planets revolving around one fixed star: The Algo Solar System. That seal would have been near-perfect, and would only let out small monsters one at a time... but two-thousand years ago, a mortal stumbled upon the seal and offered to release part of the evil energy inside for the gift of eternal life. That mortal's name was Emperor La Shiec, and that creature he released was Falz, a pre-evolutionary form of the Dark Force. La Shiec and Falz were defeated many years after, but though Falz' body was destroyed, its spirit was not. Over a one-thousand year period, its spirit evolved, regrew, and reproduced. The two new Dark Forces travelled to Earth. One studied the people of Earth, and the other studied the people on its moon. The one on Earth corrupted most of the people and taught them evil desires, and enriched them with power. They became the people of the black moon, which it seems you've already encountered. The rest were underpowered, but were still corrupt. That Dark Force reproduced once more, and one took the people of Black Moon back to Algo, to destroy its people, while the other, Metallia, remained on Earth, damaging relations and political situations between Earth and its moon. Strangely, the one Dark Force that studied the people of the moon was never found again. Whether dispatched by the silver crystal or not, we'll never know." Thanatos added.

"When the prisoner within the dark cauldron, the Profound Darkness, found that three of us lived in this system of light, she was outraged. The people of Black Moon caused the prison sattelite, Gaira, to crash into planet Parma, and destroy part of the seal. Then the great war of the Silver Millennium began. Chronos was busy with some mission of his own, Noah was helping the damage in Algo, and that left only Thanatos and I to fend off the incoming armies before they hit home." They stopped in a room where 'Noah' sat before a giant loom, tracing each individual thread with a single finger, coming across small kinks and knots from intertwining lines, and undoing them where they appeared most necessary. Noah's back was to them, though, and his white and blue garb hid all his features.

"Normally, the army would still have had quite a difficult time with just the two of us, but I had to claim Saturn's princess to aid us, so Ares fought alongside the warriors of Mars and Jupiter while I did so. Also, something odd prevented us from striking against the army. A giant mass of black that swallowed the light of the stars blocked our path. Ares had gone to the battle first, and it completely destroyed his physical body, along with most of the Silver Millennium's forces. It took the death of Sailor Saturn to decimate the dark entity... only to have it shatter into seven smaller versions of itself. Those seven eventually wore me down and distracted me while the rest of the army attacked your moon. You knew those seven as the Shadow Warriors. We can only assume since Parma was destroyed, that the large opening in the seal released that horror. Being sealed away by them, I watched helplessly as the blast of the Silver Crystal sent almost everyone ahead. The shadows were still alive after the blast, and I used the crystal myself to seal them within. I aided in your resurrection as best I could, even hiding the crystals on Earth. I'd never believed they'd take on human hosts, but perhaps that explains why the silver crystal didn't have a host itself."

Thanatos settled before an ancient telescope and continued speaking. "Long after, I found Ares' reborn form and helped him as best I could. When we all came together, we swore nothing like this would happen again. We hunted down the evil we found, and grew stronger, knowing that if we pooled all powers and resources, we might have a chance against the Profound Darkness. We let Chaos' horde come to you these past few years to train you, instead of fighting them off for you. You've grown much more powerful, but you still need more. We came to 'collect' you, so that you'd be able to help, and to train you further before we can tackle her." Thanatos finished.

"Why would the Profound Darkness be upset that you three lived here? What would she care about you?" Jupiter asked.

"She was outraged because we'd chosen... mates." Ares explained, turning a slightly brighter red, if that were possible. It looked rather odd on such a burly man.

"So what, she was jealous that you hadn't chosen her?" Venus joked. Noah turned about, pulling his hood back after hearing the conversation and questions, to reveal the one they knew as Rune. He kept his face straight, emotionless, impassive, and answered her question.

"She was outraged... because she is our mother."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

WHEW! Man, that had to have been the longest piece of work I've ever written as one chapter. I apologize again for the impossible length I made it, though most of the people who read it are thoroughly used to longer-than-life stories. This is the last chapter of "Guardian's Return". Keep a lookout for the next book, End of the Millennium: "The Path of Finding Destiny". Sorry for all those who love the story thus far, but I need a break, and I need to rethink book 3, "The Journey" a bit more before I decide to post it. I won't be able to leave this story alone, so don't worry about me never continuing it. My own irritating conscience won't let me. 


	12. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 1

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Welcome to book 2 of the "End of the Millennium" series. If you've come this far, congratulations! Book 2, entitled 'The Path of Finding Destiny', depicts the troubled past of the Silver Millennium, and just how this eternal group of four fought for the rights of the solar system. This is in fact a prequel, but should be read AFTER book one. If it doesn't make sense at first, don't worry! All will be explained. The story itself takes place from the viewpoints of the four children of destiny: Noah, Ares, Chronos, and Thanatos, in the days of the Silver Millennium.

These events take place several thousand years after the sealing of the Profound Darkness. For more backstory, see Ami's flashbacks in the later chapters of book 1. This section of the story will explain, in my story, exactly what contributed to the fall of the Silver Millennium. A story of family, love, betrayal, and corruption. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 1:

Thanatos phased in at the library, where the young princess of Mercury had told him to meet her. This 'library' was new to him. A room full of shredded trees pressed into a sheet with markings all over it, closed inside dried animal skins, and sometimes just bound inside more of those sheets of shredded tree. He floated down to a table where she sat, amidst the vast amounts of dried tree remains, her head tilted downward.

"What's wrong, Amilia?" he asked, touching her shoulder. She seized up at his ghostly touch, but relaxed immediately.

"Nothing's wrong, Thanatos. I'm just reading. You startled me." she said, looking back at him for a moment before returning to the markings on the object she was looking at.

"Sorry about that, but... Reeee-ding?" he asked, his hooded head tilting.

"Yes, it's been around for many centuries. You don't know how to read?"

"What exactly is it?"

"It can be many things. This is called a book." she said, holding the medium-sized tome up. "In the book, you take in the language on the paper to tell a story, or it can teach you something new, it can keep records, it can be almost anything you need!"

"So, it can help you remember, if you forget?"

"That's right! It might even help us learn other languages that develop."

"Your people are truly amazing, Amilia. I MUST let Chronos and Noah know of this 'image language'."

"Oh, we didn't develop it, Thanatos... but who are they?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. They're two of my brothers. My third brother could probably care less."

"You have three brothers? That's nice. I have an older sister, but she left. I have to read these things in order to learn how to be the next queen."

"I see... Your sister was supposed to be queen, but she left... and since you were not taught from birth, there isn't time enough for someone to teach you. So you learn faster through reading?"

"Well, I think I do. I learn some lessons from the books, and some from being instructed."

"You have a very busy life ahead of you. Being queen will be lonely, I imagine."

"Yes, it probably will." she mumbled sadly, then looked up from the book once more, to his hooded face. "Thanatos?"

"Hmm?"

"...could you be my friend for a little while? So I'm not lonely?" she asked, her smaller hand touching his own.

"Certainly. An intelligent and pretty young lady like yourself should have friends just like anybody. Perhaps we can learn together." Thanatos wasn't all that keen on learning how to be queen, but learning to read was something he hadn't considered before. If you put what you wanted to say in books, you'd never have to repeat yourself. Also, people wouldn't think you said one thing when you meant another. How intelligent, to have a language with no speech!

She held a bashful blush at his words, and tried to make it disappear, with little success. "So, can I meet your brothers one day?"

"I'm not sure." he said with just as much uncertainty as his statement implied. "The one that could care less lives three planets away, and Chronos lives eight planets away."

"On Mars, and Pluto?"

"That's right. My brother on Mars, Ares, keeps their princess company. He's very hotheaded and impulsive, and I think it's rubbed off on the people. You can ask her about him someday, when you meet. If we can ever unify the inner kingdom with the outer four planets, you might be able to meet Chronos, on Pluto. He's generally very peaceful and knowledgable, but he doesn't get out and about much."

"I'll be sure to try to unite them once I'm queen. It doesn't make sense that people would fear Saturn. Better to have Saturn's power on our side, rather than one day having to face it ourselves. I just hope my vote will count as enough."

"Indeed..." he dared not tell her why the planet was deemed one of death. It was his homeworld, in a sense. His existence was well-known on Saturn. "You never told anyone about me, did you?"

"I told my father I had a friend. He just accepts it, because he's very busy running our kingdom. Nobody else knows."

"I see." he said, before looking up to notice they weren't alone. Her father stood there, observing her.

"Amilia, who are you talking to?"

Thanatos breathed a sigh of relief that went unheard. The king couldn't see or hear him.

"I'm talking to Thanatos, father. I told you about him before."

Thanatos mentally slapped himself. She was going to be deemed crazy, or he'd be found out, or...

"An imaginary friend? Amilia, I'm certain we can find you someone to be your real friend."

"But father..." she made to explain, but Thanatos touched her shoulder to interrupt her.

"Amilia, listen." Thanatos said, seeing where this might go. "Go along with it. I will still be your friend, but he doesn't see or hear me. If you talk to me, make sure you're alone. I don't want them to think you're crazy for talking to someone that isn't there."

Amilia nodded. "Okay. Thank you, father. I just wish there were others around more often."

"Well, I can help with that. Our scientists were working on small planetary communication devices, and we planned on giving some out to the other kingdoms at the next planetary meeting, which we'll be having tomorrow." he pulled his left arm out from behind him and handed over a small communicator. "Just be careful with it. These are only prototypes, so eventually we'll build better, more compact ones, but I figured you'd want to test them out with the future leaders of the other planets who are far away, so you don't seem so lonely. Do you need me to show you how it works?"

"No thank you, but I do thank you for the gift, father." she said, already examining it. "I'll be able to figure it out in no time. But right now I need to get back to my studies."

The king gave a wan smile. "You'll grow up to be a very intelligent and beautiful queen one day, my daughter. When that day comes, I hope to watch you with your mother, smiling at your success."

Thanatos knew such thoughts were merely mortal beliefs of the afterlife. Nobody truly knew except himself what lay beyond the veil of darkness when one closed their eyes for the last time. There was no 'eternal spiritual rest'. No 'eternal spiritual damnation'. The universe's chaos factor was a sorting and cleaning process: The good people were sent for reincarnation to recycle the chaos back into the universe (as their souls were woven from the very chaos into a form of order), then reincarnated over a period of time through the system's galaxy cauldron. The bad people however, were sent to the dimension of darkness, the dark cauldron (or more commonly known as the Negaverse), with the possibility of release after the thousand-year cycle. If they had repented, they were allowed to be born again. But sometimes, judgement would let them go anyway.

Never had he known where judgement came from. Was judgement a child of the Guardian Of Destiny, like himself and his brothers? Was it simply a process of the dimension's properties? Perhaps he would look into it one day. His attention snapped-to when he felt the warm, smaller hand grasp at his own. The king had left while he was thinking, and he hadn't been aware of the events occurring outside.

"Thanatos, are you okay?"

He looked down at the blue-haired princess and gave her small hand a squeeze, smiling behind his hood, though there was no chance she could see it. "Yes, I was just thinking."

"So what about your third brother?"

"Hm? Oh! His name is Noah. He lives very, very far away. So far, in fact, that I haven't heard from him since I moved to this solar system."

"Do you miss him?"

"My brothers and I aren't all that close... we need each others' help now and again, but we hardly speak. We're all too different, and our beliefs are too different as well."

"I guess we are alike, if you consider how we're not very close to our siblings." she pulled him down to sit next to her, near the book. "How are you different from each other?"

"Chronos, Ares, and I decided we wanted someone special in our lives, and Noah didn't. He was even mad about it, but that's because something happened to the one he loved. I think that's why he's far away, to meet her when she returns."

"Noah must have really loved her."

"He did." Thanatos mumbled, then continued. "Anyhow, Ares wanted a companion, Chronos wanted a family of his own, and..." he paused, wondering how to properly put his situation. "...and I wanted a friend. Being death itself, nobody's happy to see me. You were the only one who's ever treated me fairly, and I'm very grateful for that. Asking for a friend was all I dared, for none could keep me as a permanent companion."

"You're pretty hard on yourself, Thanatos."

"Am I? Even the people of Saturn turned me away, and I'm their-" he quickly silenced himself, realizing too late that he'd revealed his secret.

"You're the source of the power that the other kingdoms fear." She finished for him. He said nothing and simply nodded in affirmation. "I've known that, Thanatos. The entity of death obviously comes from the planet of silence and death."

"...and yet you would still remain friends?"

"Well, let's just say that being my friend will help influence our decision to add Saturn to the union of our solar system." She stated flatly. He stared blankly at her, and she began giggling.

"Hmph... seems your 'reading' is working." he grumbled, moving to get up from behind her chair, before her hand claimed his own again.

"Thanatos..." she tried to ease the anger she'd started in him, because it was only a joke to begin with. "I didn't mean it like that. Atop being my friend, it WOULD help unite the kingdoms in peace, and you would be more socially accepted once that happens, since someone would know you for who you are, not what you represent. So, in a sense, your wish for a permanent companion isn't so far-fetched."

He leaned down and pulled her into a hug, his tattered black cloak ghosting over her smaller frame. "Thank you. That would mean a great deal, since my own people despise me. But even if I do not expend my power, there is one upon the planet of silence that received my blessing... and if it ever came down to it, she would bring an end to whatever planet she stood upon."

"That would be most troubling. Perhaps if we made friends, instead of holding fear, she would be less likely to harm us?"

"Couldn't hurt. I'll contact them myself, soon. But for now, could you show me this 'reading'?" He asked, thinking as he learned from the girl. 'Could she care for the one behind this shroud? She's still young. A few more years, and I might be able to ask... she may be mature mentally, but I dare not attach myself to someone who is still so young. The one I blessed with my power was much younger still, and she hates me now. I must bide my time. That which I want is superceded by morals. I dare not accept my darker half.'

"...atos? Thanatos, are you listening?"

"Sorry... I am, but I'm just having a little trouble comprehending it." he half-lied. He WAS able to think and learn at the same time, but what she was teaching wasn't exactly occupying his mind.

"It's all right. You see..."

------------------------------------------------------------

And so it begins.

How did Thanatos come to know the young princess of Mercury? How can she see him when no other can? This and more will be answered in future chapters of 'End of the Millennium:  
The Path of Finding Destiny'! 


	13. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 2

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Yeah, I know the first chapter doesn't explain a whole lot. That's why this is a prequel, and not the first story I posted. The Path of Finding Destiny was going to be a standalone story before I decided to splice this to Phantasy Star.

For the first time since they discuss him in the Sailor Moon Universe, Chapter 2 bears exposure to Chronos, lord of the Time Gates, creator of the time keys, and governor of time itself!

Have you ever wondered why Setsuna's talisman was freed in the anime? Time you learned. gets hit for the bad pun Haha okay, okay! Story time!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 2:

"You see, Setsuna? It's not that difficult once you can feel all that is there."

The green-haired young woman struggled against the barrier she held up, protecting her from the onslaught of time and the power it pressed against her. "It IS difficult, Chronos. I'm simply getting better at it."

The others in the room didn't appear to move, unless you were watching them closely. He began to notice her physical and mental exertion was being taxed, as her eyes were squinted shut and she was beginning to sweat. "Why do you struggle so?"

"...because... you once warned me not to halt time altogether, and to never attempt to reverse it. If I put out any more power, one or either could happen. I'm trying to keep my power where it is, but it's like flexing a muscle... I can't hold it forever!"

"Then release your exertion slowly. We need to bring you out of this state."

The strain on the princess of Pluto eased significantly, and the timeflow warped slowly back to normal. She breathed heavily, and the others in the room approached to care for her.

"We're going to need to focus your abilities better in order to maintain their growth. It appears mortals will have more difficulty with my ability than I thought."

"I'm sorry, Chronos... I want to be able to handle your power, I'll help at any cost."

"Any cost..." he echoed, considering the implications. He knew the four protectors of the outer solar system held weapons of power within their hearts. He cared for this young woman as both daughter and mate, and he could feel the obvious affection for him from her, yet the power of her heart did not release the weapon. He looked up to the attendants with focused teal eyes. "...leave us. I must do something, and I do not wish to be disturbed."

The others left without question. Though he was not their king, he had just as much stature, if not more. He commanded the very power they represented, and was rumored to be tied to Earth's holy land of Elysion and its kingdom. He alone was mediator between worlds. "Setsuna, within you lies the connected power... the power of my father mixed with my own skills. Since each of my brothers borrow a bit of power from each other, you have access to it as well since you are my pupil. Yet, it seems to be lying dormant, and despite my best efforts, I have not been able to awaken it. I can try one last thing, but it may be considerably painful."

Setsuna nodded. She'd learned what men would do when she became old enough, and she loved Chronos. It seemed right, and she still held a little fear, yet he reached out and touched her heart, and it confused her.

-"Father, grant me the power I need to awaken our strength in this girl. Grant her the ability to unlock the greatest strength within herself."- he spoke in his family's tongue, one that few had ever heard.

Energy collected in his palm, which had settled between her developing breasts, and suddenly a shrill scream pierced the halls of the castle, several people becoming aware of their princess' pain. The screams stopped as suddenly as they started, and Chronos smiled as he lifted the heart-shaped talisman with the garnet core. It would grant her abilities she needed badly. But his smile gave way to horror as he saw the pale look on her face.

She was barely breathing!

It occurred to him this sort of thing might happen. The physical manifestation of her heart crystal would drain a great deal of her life energy. But when he attempted to restore that energy, it disturbed him to see it leaving her again quickly. He delved into the heart-shaped item's depths, trying to find why it was happening. Then he saw it. Her heart crystal was still within the talisman! 'No wonder... it did not separate because I forcibly removed it.' He thought, gently dividing the heart crystal from the talisman, as improper division of energy with such magnitude could wipe a planet clean of life. He relaxed as the single power became two, and he restored her crystal back to her body. She moaned and sat up, running her hand through her dark green locks, which had looked scattered about from the previous exertion and her movements from when he removed the crystal.

"D-did it work?"

Chronos held the talisman before her with a smile. "Indeed it did. We must convert it properly though, as a weapon by itself it is virtually useless."

She took the floating item from his grasp, and it hovered in her own. "It's very pretty... so... am I a woman now?"

Chronos looked at her blankly, then laughed at the comment. "You thought I was...? Oh... I'm sorry, Setsuna. Men should never do such things outright. No, we didn't do anything like that. You are still as pure as the day I met you."

Setsuna looked a little disappointed, but smiled all the same. Having time to think of it, she realized she wasn't entirely sure that she was ready for that sort of thing anyhow, despite the love she held for her mentor and God.

Suddenly, guards burst through the door and held pikes to Chronos' throat. Fear was evident however, despite their position. They were holding weapons to the throat of the only man who held more power than their king! Setsuna turned about to the guards in surprise.

"What do you think you're doing!"

"He was harming you, princess. I don't care if he has superiority over us, nobody has that right!" one guard said, the tip of his pike poking the underside of Chronos' chin.

"He wasn't hurting me intentionally! He was unlocking my abilities! Look!" She tried to show the talisman, but they didn't bother to see.

"We'll determine that in front of the King! Let's gghhhh..." the second began, before collapsing, followed by the rest of the guards in the room.

Setsuna looked over to Chronos, who only sighed and checked his chin to see if it was bleeding. He WOULD pick that time to not wear his hood. Unless he was completely shielded by his robes and cloak, he was exposed to the world outside. Mortal. "What did you do to them, Chronos?"

Pulling his hood up, he sighed and looked in her direction. "I slowed time in their veins. With a decreased heartrate, combined with the flow of iron to their brains being slowed, they passed out. They should become conscious in a few hours. Meanwhile, though, I think we should go see your Father."

"Why do we need to see the King?"

"It's time I made my full intentions known, so we don't have interruptions like that again."

Not long after, they made their way to the throne room and knelt, eyes cast downward until the king spoke. It was law amongst the planets never to meet the gaze of royalty unless you held equal standing as them, until they had spoken. Chronos followed the rule out of respect, even if the king didn't like him.

"You have some explaining to do, Chronos."

"Indeed I do, your majesty." Chronos replied, biting back the bitter resentment he held this lord. "I have not done any permanent harm to your daughter, but her training has gone exceptionally well. She now has abilities near my own level. However, the extraction of the latest boost to her power was going to be painful, and I rightly told her such."

"Your point, Chronos."

What a cold bastard! Did he care nothing for his own daughter? "Do you know why I have been training your daughter?"

"The rumors say that even the master of time cannot escape its effects forever. You plan to steal my daughter away and make her your replacement. I've only allowed it because I know there is little I can do to stop you."

"You are half correct, your majesty. Time marks me not." He narrowed his eyes at the ageing king. "I gave you the very same abilities and chance years ago, but you refuse to train with them, and use them, to practice them. As king you have an obligation to serve your world. In serving this world, you also serve me. We work together to protect it. Yet now you do nothing but stall my every move. I will one day claim your daughter for her assistance, but not today."

The king's eyes widened, but he hung his head, defeated. "There is a meeting amongst the planetary leaders on Earth's moon. Since you are now more of a father to my daughter than myself, and you seem to have taken it upon yourself to rule this world, then I request that you go in my stead. Your abilities have done nothing but rob me of my youth."

Chronos bared his teeth, still biting back his anger. "Your refusal to use your power was the reason you have decayed such. But very well. We shall go in your stead. Just know, that if you continue to state that I am this planet's ruler, I will eventually take you up for the offer.

With that, he stood and spun about, his cape flapping behind him as he made for the exit. Setsuna flailed in misunderstanding, not sure whether to go with Chronos or stay with her father. Looking back to her father one last time, she made her decision and ran off to follow Chronos.

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And chapter two is done! This will be more than the simple pairing of senshi and guardians. Enjoy, and maybe you can find time in your hearts to review! 


	14. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 3

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Okay, I know this is gonna just look like a simple pairing story. Get over it. This is all part of the long-term plan. This particular book is the longest of the planned series... at least three times as long as book one. Hope you got a snack ready if you're reading the whole thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 3:

Ares smiled as he sipped a goblet of chilled Martian wine, watching the raven-haired princess of Mars hit another bullseye with her bow. His brothers were so strange. Ares was worshipped here on Mars, but Chronos seemed to be an indifferent supreme being, not taking the role of his superiority on Pluto, nor Earth. Noah decided to exist far away, where he could be alone, and sleep forever and a day. Thanatos was laughable; he completely bungled his rulership of Saturn, and was both feared and hated by the people of not only his planet, but every planet in the system. If he actually took his dark side seriously, he would make a great tyrant and a worthy adversary against the red planet he now resided upon. War was fun to him. But instead, Thanatos' light side took precedence, and he found his partner on the iron planet of Mercury.

Honestly, was he the only one destined to rule? Sitting upon a podium above the king and queen's throne, he clapped twice, and Reianna rested her bow, putting the arrow back in its quiver. Ares insisted upon holding her training in the main hall, to prove himself to the royalty, even though they would do what he wished without question. As long as he made his skill known, he proved he held the true power without bringing forth war upon the whole planet.

"You are proving most skilled, Reianna. That will be enough for today." he gestured and the targets disappeared in flames, as well as the bow and quiver. King Myhr was the only one present aside from Ares and Reianna, as their queen was the very spirit of flame within the planet itself, given female form. She would make herself known if she wished. Had the man who was now king not met with this spirit, Ares would have taken HER as his mate, instead of considering her daughter. Unfortunately, once she had birthed the child, her fiery form returned to the planet, for it needed her. Though Ares had chosen Reianna as his mate in his own mind, never had he let the information pass his lips. It wasn't as though he were afraid... any man who dared to say so would be instantly flogged. It was her choice, not his, as was the rule of royalty amongst the people of Mars. Ares leapt down and stood before the king, beside princess Reianna. "Your highness, what is on the agenda today?"

"Well, there appears to be some kind of uproar on the next planet, Earth. We may have to quell their fighting soon." The aging king spoke, struggling with a slight wheeze at the end of his sentence.

"Again? Damn Earthers. Always with their destructive nature. Funny how your people started the same way, but they have yet to evolve. I'd swear the ones we should fear in the universe is THEM, not Saturn." Ares tried to insist upon the lack of danger Saturn represented. He wanted to help Thanatos, even if his brother could care less. The alliance was more important. "But still, what else?"

"There appears to be a meeting amongst the planetary leaders. Obviously, Reianna must go, and of course, you will have to follow."

"But father, aren't you going?"

Ares kneeled before her. "Reianna, your father is growing very ill. He must rest and restore his strength if he is to maintain his rule. Besides, someone has to retain control while we're both gone, and I don't believe the lords of this planet can be trusted for long without someone watching them." he smoothed his calloused hand over her head, trailing down through her long, raven hair. "It will be time for you to meet the other future rulers, for you will have to work with them one day... especially if our plans run smoothly. My only problem would be Earth. Though they hold a state of hierarchy like the rest of the planets, they seem to despise the rest of the solar system, and are constantly battling each other as well. I don't see how people who cannot even get along with each other can hope to be allied with an entire solar system."

"Agreed. Lord Ares, please accompany my daughter. Reianna, be mindful not to speak about or to Ares while there, for the others should not know of him."

"Fine." she mumbled, looking angrily at the ground. She hated the thought of meeting a bunch of pampered giggling children who probably couldn't throw a punch, much less a weapon. Though Ares was her mentor and instructor, he was also like a parent and best friend. To ignore him while she was forced to speak with others seemed very rude indeed.

"I'm sure you'll like meeting the young rulers of Venus and Jupiter. The people of Venus are masterful metalcrafters, and are just as proficient with the weapons they make; their princess included. And be wary of the princess of Jupiter. She can be a bit... disagreeable, but only because others might not give her the chance she deserves. She has twice the strength of the average man from Mars, as well. Perhaps while you're there, you can give Earth's prince sound judgement. Maybe a little fear from other worlds will keep him in line if they manage to become part of the alliance."

Reianna visibly brightened at hearing of these two, and the chance to encourage a halt to the fighting on Earth. Perhaps testing her skill against one of them would help pass the time.

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Yeah, I know this one's a shorty. Most of these WILL be. Tolerate it a little longer, I beg of you! 


	15. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 4

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Chapter four! JOY! 

This chapter takes place quite some time before the existing story, as Noah, master of the fate of the entire cosmos, finds disaster on the horizon. These shorties won't be around much more. This is only to... well you know by now. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 4:

Two decades before:

Noah slept, as he had on and off for over nine centuries, in the cryogenic chamber of Dezolis. His followers, the Espers, would wake him when the time was right. He asked to be woken every ten years so that his body would not suffer any permanent damage from the freezing, and so he could correct any problems with the fabric of reality, but now more than ever, he desired to wake. As the manager of the fate of all in the universe, even his dreams kept him up to date; his power awake even while his body slept. He felt it: the darkness had multiplied since he did battle with it so long ago.

It was closing upon the one-thousand year mark when he felt the darkness growing and multiplying. The spirit of Falz had restored its physical body and had evolved and split repeatedly. Twice, in fact. Now there were three of the monstrosities roaming the universe, and he was stuck in the cryogenic chamber unable to do anything about it. What was worse, was that one was hovering in the Algo solar system once again, like he'd first met it, and his brain screamed for his body to wake when he'd forseen several billion spirit threads ripping from the fabric of order, as one of the planets would blow up.

'Kula, Jeras, hear me.' his thoughts reached out beyond the chamber to his two top pupils. 'I have made a blind and foolish decision by remaining in this chamber. I have trained little in the past thousand years, and I fear the darkness I once defeated has restored itself, made itself stronger, and multiplied. There is no way for me to defeat it now, but there is something we can do while I prepare others' destiny.'

'What is it you wish us to do, master Lutz?' Jeras asked, his thoughts light and airy, but tinged with the heaviness of what their master spoke.

'When the time comes, speak with the Lord of Palma. Tell him of the arriving darkness, and make him understand the destructive power of their 'mother brain'. The powerful darkness has corrupted its systems, and it won't be long before the planets of this system will be decimated. Have him evacuate as many people as possible from the planet, for Palma will be the first to fall.'

'Sir! Can't we stop such awful destruction?' Kula asked, true worry wrapping about her thoughts. Hearing of evil was one thing, but being incapable of defeating your enemy was just terrible!

'No... already the threads have fallen into place. A band of warriors shall search for the cause of Motavia's water problems, but once they solve it, they will be branded for causing the destruction. Even if your message reaches the governor, they will still be blamed. Once caught, they will be put on the prison sattelite Gaira, and Mother Brain will alter its orbit to crash into Palma, because the darkness aboard the Mother Brain senses what I sense: The people aboard will be able to defeat it. I can spare them, for they are descendants of the line of protectors... but beyond that, we can do no more.'

'Can we not defeat the darkness if we work together? Certainly our master Noah isn't that weak!'

'No... even if we do everything in our power, this galaxy will still be nearly doomed. My power alone wasn't nearly enough to defeat the larval form of this being. I brought you all to this place when I foresaw the mother brain hunting our kind, because this planet will remain essentially unscathed for the next thousand years. We have lost too many, and the darkness knows we still have the capability to stop it in this respect. But many things trouble me, atop that.'

'Our entire galaxy will lie in ruin, and you're worried about MORE?'

'This darkness, while it has grown strong, has also multiplied. There are at least three of them now. Only one is set upon destroying us. The other two are elsewhere in the universe. Emperor La Shiec was a fool to crack the seal... and I was a fool for not asking the assistance of my brothers to defeat him and the evil that corrupted him. But I can do that now. I only pray they can stop the rest of the horrors...'

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ONOEZ! T3h Darkness! He who perceives the future has seen the coming of Metallia, and the destruction of their own solar system by the hands of another dark force, but what is this third one? Remember, Noah's perception of the future isn't definite, but it's fairly accurate. What reason could the darkness have to spread so far? Find out next time!

Yeah, I know this one's short too. There will be one more shorty, then things will really get interesting. 


	16. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 5

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: So the meeting of the Silver Millennium begins. I hope you don't think I'm going to bore you with politics! Enjoy, people! Hope all these short ones don't scare you off. I assure you, this will be a long story!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 5:

Eight of the ten future leaders bowed in greeting to one another, formal dresses and appearance simply a mask to the people beneath them. The future leader of Earth had not appeared. The current leaders had, naturally, to try and work their way into the negotiations of the alliance, but there was no reason given for their prince's lack of attendance. The other not present was the future leader of Saturn. Not only was she not of age to even consider the throne, but the people of Saturn were forbidden to set foot on any of their worlds. It was why Thanatos had remained in hiding for so long. But now, he found it difficult to remain so, for he saw Chronos, in physical form, accompanying the future ruler of Pluto. Ares at least had enough sense to remain like Thanatos: invisible to mortal eyes, except those that were chosen to see them.

It seemed that each of them had some kind of escort: The moon princess had her black guardian cat, Luna. Venus' princess had a similar white guardian cat, Artemis. The princesses of Neptune and Uranus seemed to be guarding each other. Mercury and Mars had Thanatos and Ares guarding them respectively, but none could see the two. The only one that did not appear to have an escort or guardian was the tall brunette whose physical appearance seemed commanding, and would be a tad frightening were she not already friends with the princess of Venus. There was no doubt that this was Jupiter's princess.

The Queen and princess of Earth's moon were present because their people, the Lunarii, seemed to have the driving force in the solar system, with the strength to govern the others. Though it always seemed odd to the trio of brothers that they could not govern the very planet below them.

The meeting seemed overall boring to the young rulers, except for Mercury's princess, who seemed to be soaking up the information and writing it down. Discussion and arguments ranged from alliances, to trade, to the simple placating of the masses.

Thanatos knew there was a serious problem, though. With nobody to represent Saturn, nobody would consider their alliance. These people were so stubborn! Why did they fear him so much? In his anger, he floated away from behind the Mercurian princess, Ares and Chronos watching him go, but nobody else took notice of Chronos' movement of following Thanatos. If no member of the planet were permitted to speak on their behalf, then he would speak for them, mortal or not! Drifting in his phased-out form to the outside of the doorway and down the hall, he willed himself visible once more and rounded the corner, approaching the guards. Might as well make an appearance, so he doesn't just phase in and scare the lot of them. Using fear was not what he had in mind.

"W-what is that?"

"It's floating! It doesn't have any legs!"

Thanatos began reconsidering this. His form was too ghostly and spectral. Perhaps he should craft a more humanoid body soon. "Greetings, I am a representative of the people of Saturn, coming to speak upon their behalf to be considered for the alliance."

"The people of Saturn aren't permitted here! Stay where you are!" they kept pikes at the ready, but Thanatos had made no move anyhow. Carefully he raised his hands to show he held no weapons to strike them.

"Good sirs, I am not from Saturn, I merely represent them. No progress can be made if no communication is initiated." There was logic in his words, and the fact that he wasn't from Saturn was a half-truth. He had come from there long ago, but he had not originated there.

"Well, I suppose you're right, but I'll have to see. Keep an eye on him." he told the other guard, who only nodded while the first opened the door and stepped behind it.

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Yeah, super short. This will be made up for in the next chapter, when we'll see some political action, deception, threats, fear... ahh, I'll let you read it when it arrives. :P 


	17. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 6

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: The political meeting of the planets! Finally, the truth behind why Saturn was not allowed in the alliance of the Silver Millennium! This is the first 'long' chapter. Go to the bathroom before reading, grab a snack or drink, whatever you need. This one could take a while.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 6:

"Your majesties, please forgive the interruption..." the guard said, his voice a touch shaken from his encounter.

"What is it?" the queen of Earth's moon asked.

"My queen, th-there is a representative of Saturn requesting to speak upon the planet's behalf."

"How in the world did this representative get past our defenses!"

"I know not, my queen... but he seems very ghostly. He floated up to us with his request!"

Ares slapped his forehead, realizing what was going on. Thankfully, the sound went unnoticed.

"...Very well. Let him enter."

The guard gulped and opened the door, and the floating form of Thanatos glided foreward, coming to bow before the head of the royal court, his tattered cape curling in front as his blackened arm swept over his chest.

"Perhaps you are unaware, sir... or madam... "

"Sir." his voice held a doubled-over tone when in physical form, which seemed to disturb some in the room.

"Yes, sir... are you unaware that we are not considering alliance with the planet of silence?"

"I am aware, milady. I am hoping to change that."

"I fail to see how. You have violated a very specific rule, that no one from Saturn may set foot upon any of the other worlds."

"As specific as that rule is, it does not apply to me. Firstly, I was not created upon Saturn, though I have been there. Secondly, as you can see, I have not set 'foot' upon your world." he gestured below, showing the obvious: no legs hung from the tattered cloak.

"You know what the rule means!"

"Yes, and I have followed it to the T. You yourself said the rule was very specific." he chuckled internally at his own cleverness. The room actually darkened from the anger Queen Serentiy radiated, but Thanatos remained unmoved. Amilia simply watched the scene, not understanding what he was up to. Ares and Chronos held a similar look of confusion, though Ares' was also tinged with amusement. "Your anger is understandable. I'm used to the hatred and fear of the universe. After all, nobody is ever happy to meet me. Since I have not already, I bid you greeting. My name is Thanatos. I am the physical manifestation of Silence, Destruction, and Death."

Anger gave way to dread, and Thanatos could feel the fear permeating the air, the darkness of Serenity's feelings dispersing and replacing with the cold chill of fear not only from the queen, but from virtually everyone in the room.

"I despise using fear to make myself heard, but you were too blinded by anger to hear my request."

"I will not work with the evil likes of your kind!"

"No? You already work with two others of my kind. In fact, they are in this very room! Do you consider the court of Pluto to be evil, milady?"

"Never! The court of Pluto has kept only the best interests of our world in mind, protecting my daughter, even! Chronos himself is the representative of both Earth and Pluto! They defend the outermost regions!"

"I see. And what of the court of Mars? Do they stand as evil to you?"

"Their methods are a tad crude and violent... no offense, Reianna." The queen spoke to the princess of Mars, who simply nodded in affirmation. "...But they guard our entire system from invasion and end wars amongst the worlds! They are in no way evil!"

"Truly? Did you know that the courts of Pluto and Mars are ruled by a higher power?"

"You speak dangerously, Thanatos. I am the ruling power of this solar system."

"Indeed, your power is great." Thanatos admitted, with no mockery in his tone. "But you do not hold supreme power." his eyes glowed a luminous Jade, and he spoke in his native tongue. "Ares, make yourself known. We've remained hidden long enough."

Ares shifted into their physical plane, a bulking red armored warrior with a sword sheathed at his side. The others in the room shifted away from him, except for Reianna, whose smaller arm wrapped around the tree-trunk that he called an arm. "You're being foolish, Thanatos."

"Am I? Chronos walks about freely. He's better at maintaining this alliance than even you are. I'd call you a coward myself if you didn't already understand the reason behind hiding." he looked back up to the queen, speaking their language once more. "Milady, meet Ares, guardian of Mars and master of war. I believe you've already met Chronos, guardian of Pluto, and master of Time."

Queen Serenity stared dumbfounded at Chronos, who held himself tall in the presence of the queen. "My queen," Chronos began. "We three have chosen to be guardians of this system. We have encouraged and promoted the hierarchy of these planets for many years, having come from afar. We have protected this system from invading evil many times, the invasion usually getting no closer than Pluto. While the people of these planets are thanked for their efforts in doing so, they would most certainly fail without us."

"So you deem yourselves puppet masters, using the people of these worlds?"

"Far from it." Ares stated. "Had Thanatos governed his world like he was supposed to, you would not be so against the planet of Saturn. I'm assuming he's here to correct that mistake. We are absolutely necessary, otherwise this solar system would fall into chaos. If we ceased to exist altogether, the universe might collapse upon itself."

"It is unnerving to learn there are others with more control than yourself, I know." Thanatos explained. "...but you must understand, only our best intentions were in mind. You prosper because we enforce it."

"Then explain Earth." the statement was so blunt that it shocked everyone present, especially the king and queen of Earth itself.

"Now see here, Lunarian!"

"SILENCE!" Thanatos whirled about to face the Earth king, pointing a gloved finger at him. "Do not tempt me to make the same mistake I made on Saturn!"

The king sat once more, shaken, and Thanatos turned back to Queen Serenity, his voice calming. "Earth is governed by beings that are exempt of the normally pre-existing power dominance. You and your kind are creatures of light, creations of our father. The creatures of darkness are creations of our mother. We three are neutrals, serving neither side over the other, though since we reside in this system that is primarily light, we resist the darkness. The people of Earth can be swayed by either side, but never totally and altogether. It is part of their chaotic nature. They shall never be singular in their choice, because they were given that very ability to choose. While that power of choice does not allow them to be ruled easily, their concept was conceived before the great war."

"Great war?"

"Of course. Certainly you must be familiar with it."

"Enlighten us. We've seen no real 'war' since before our people descended from distant stars."

"Certainly. Ares, please, do the honors."

Ares stepped forward and Thanatos fell back from the standing room for the speakers. "As master of war, I am privelidged to tell you the genesis of the universe, as it leads to the greatest war known." he gestured his arms wide as though describing the land of his youth, when the room darkened and everything around became a swirl of color.

"Long ago, when there was nothing but the chaos, a bit of that chaos came into order, grew, evolved, and matured into a powerful spiritual entity." A section of the bending-rainbow came apart and appeared slightly different, moving against the currents of movement.

"This entity searched the chaos over and over for more of its kind, but none were ever found. In its search, as it grew, it discovered it held the knowledge of creation, as if it were instinct. So it began creating the universe from the chaos: Stars, planetoids, the vaccum of space, even gravity. There were many trial and error problems, which explains a small amount of the universe's uninhabitable planets." the coloration began forming into solid shapes and colors, and before long virtually all of the massive color distortion was gone, replaced by the blackness of space and its stars.

"Eventually, the universe as you know it was completed, and the being tried to create a creature similar to itself, since it was lonely. Unfortunately, it found that it could not, since there was simply not enough chaos energy left. Being so very lonely, the entity split itself in two, and each half became a separate entity: The Great Light, and the Profound Darkness." He gestured to the color-shapen sphere that represented the entity, and the one sphere split into two, a bright blue and white ball of light, and a dark purple and red ball of dark.

"These two, while indifferent to each other, learned that they had the ability to create smaller and less powerful beings that were much like themselves by using their own energies, which would regenerate. Populating the planets, they both eventually came upon the planet Earth, and began arguing over who should populate it with their kind. But instead of an agreement of one relenting to the other, or that they would both populate the planet with their kind, their energies made a balanced mix of beings: Earthlings."

Ares cleared his throat and continued. "When the two learned of their ability to make a species totally independent of their creators, they generated the first 'love'. This powerful union, combined with the last of the raw chaos energy of the universe, created four children: myself, Chronos, Thanatos, and Noah." he said, indicating the other two, and looking back to the queen while saying their fourth brother's name. "We four governed the four universal constants: War, Time, Death, and Fate, respectively."

"I'm not entirely sure what happened to cause it," He continued. "But another argument sprouted between the Great Light and the Profound Darkness many millennia after that. This time coming to blows. Their creations followed suit, and continued to battle, long after the fight was over. The continuous battle of light and darkness is the great war we speak of. The creatures of darkness are your invaders, Queen Serenity."

"I see... who was the victor?"

"There was no victor. While the Profound Darkness was defeated, the Great Light could not bring himself to destroy her, because he still loved her. Instead, he imprisoned her, and then self-terminated, scattering his crystalline form throughout the universe. Each of those crystals were born to creatures of power. Every member of royalty here possesses one, if not internally, then physically." Ares finished, looking at the queen knowingly. Her eyes widened in understanding, and she pulled forth the round, 'silver' crystal.

"So this crystal... this is a piece of... of our creator? Of God?"

"Of our father, yes." Ares agreed, correcting her. "I suggest keeping that piece hidden away. In the wrong hands, it could be very dangerous. It's not easy to take the crystals within a person, but a free-standing crystal can be threatening to any mortal. The crystals within a person's body represent those who would strive the most for peace, and will give each of you an edge over your enemies in skill and power. That is why I have been training Reianna, here. She may be a formidable leader and warrior on Mars one day, and obviously a proper defense for your own daughter when the time comes."

The queen tucked the crystal away once more, and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose there's no way to test if you are who you say you are."

"No safe way, my queen. As I stated, if one of us were not to do our job, eventually everyone in the universe would destroy each other, or life would simply cease to exist. We are bringers of order, for without us, the universe would return to chaos, and there is no entity to re-create the universe once that happens."

"So, if you are death itself, and you serve to protect this system, why do I still feel fear of Saturn?"

"The only reason you have to fear Saturn is if we did NOT protect this system. Mortals are not meant to wield the bulk of our power without us training them... but my own especially." Thanatos explained. "If, by any chance, that an enemy gets beyond us, and they manage to cause complete chaos, the princess of Saturn's power would awaken. As long as I am here, I can stop her from activating her power... but if she lays down the blade of her weapon, the glaive of silence, then all hope is lost for the planet she resides upon. A terrible power is unleashed that wipes all life clear from a planet, from terrans to plants. That is why you subconsciously fear the silent planet. I cannot train her in my abilities... in fact, my gift was not truly bestowed upon her, but rather stolen by her. She despises me and all I stand for, and for that very reason, she will not accept my training. But then, even if I could..." Thanatos paused.

"If you could?"

"She would die upon the release of her power. Power enough to exterminate all life on a planet, including her own. A last resort power, if ever there was one. The people of Saturn are not bad people, they are simply rejected because of what I represent."

The queen of the moon sat, focused upon her thoughts, staring at Thanatos above folded hands. "What does Saturn offer the Silver Millennium?"

Thanatos gaped. Was she considering it? He hadn't thought out his proposal this far, thinking it would wait until another time. Perhaps it was because she believed that Saturn had little to offer, and if that were the case, this kingdom's queen was very intelligent... but he could certainly tell her otherwise. "Well, with the princess of Saturn on your side, she is much less likely to activate her power against you, and if you so choose to conquer a world and resettle upon it, she would be most useful as a trump card to empty the planet of inhabitants. I know your kind are not conquerers... but it's something to think about."

"You have yet to draw my attention. Go on."

He was losing her! "Also, like Mercury, this planet has a wide variety of technology at its disposal, as well as healing magics. You've not been there in the last few years to know this, I imagine." Thanatos eyed the queen. Apparently something was going on that they didn't want it, no matter what. He could almost see it in her eyes. "The king of Saturn was quite an inventive man himself, before he grew ill. Until their princess matures, they are without commanding royalty. I'd say now would be a perfect time to offer protection to a world that holds little in the way of leadership."

"You make very valid points, Thanatos." she stated flatly. He already knew her answer by her tone. He was wasting his time. He'd have to find another way. "But my decision stands firm. We cannot allow such a dangerous world to be allied with the Silver Millennium. Mercury's technology is enough for the alliance, and the threat of Saturn is still too great. I will reconsider when their princess comes of age, that I might speak with her directly. You may be a representative, but many things can change in the progress of time. Furthermore, I must ask you a question."

"Please, go ahead." Thanatos said, not liking this one bit. She dared to waste his time, yet ask something of him?

"As protectors of this solar system, you have followed the rules of the Silver Millennium, as though you were under its rule as well, correct?"

"Indeed so, Queen Serenity."

"Then as members of the alliance, I decree that you shall not visit any of our worlds again, unless in dire emergency. You may remain on your respective planets only."

Thanatos grit his teeth unconsciously. 'How dare she! Treating us with the same disdain as the people of Saturn!' He was tempted to not be so friendly, but the look on Ami's face gave him an idea. Time to play a little deception of his own.

"You cannot decree the will of Gods!" Ares stood, pounding his fist into the platform in front of him, which splintered from the action. Had Ares spoken a moment sooner, Thanatos might have agreed, but instead he held his hand out to silence him. He had a plan.

"Ares is quite correct, Milady. But I'm willing to be fair. I have no problem staying on the planet I have resided upon. Chronos, have you any problem with remaining where you are?"

"None, Thanatos... aside from times in which I must exercise my position in Elysion." Chronos said, folding his hands inside his white robe's long sleeves.

"And you, Ares?"

"I spearpoint Mars' war legion! I cannot be kept in place to wait until my troops return for each order!"

"Well then, only Ares has a problem, and Chronos seems all right as long as he can get his work done. May we be allowed to leave if it includes our duty as warlord, representative, or priestan?"

"I agree to those terms."

"Then do you also agree that if any of our tasks are required on other planets, that we are permitted to visit them?"

"It seems only fair."

"Then I agree to those conditions." Thanatos spoke, looking to Chronos.

"I do as well." Chronos answered, bowing for the queen.

"Hmph. Fine." was all Ares could say. He wasn't happy about being kept in one place, but at least his work would get done.

Thanatos looked back to the princess of Mercury, who was writing down everything said. He smiled; Her plans were indeed clever. This would have taken much longer without her ingenuity. "Then we all agree, and leave for the planets we reside upon. Hopefully, if we are permitted to see each other again, such hostility can be avoided. Farewell." and Thanatos shifted out of their reality, the others following suit.

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What could Thanatos be up to? Shouldn't he have discussed this with his brothers beforehand? Trusting the creatures they protect with the genesis of the cosmos? Did he expect a different reaction? Next chapter will be a bit shorter, but I'm sure it's welcome after this long one. Later! 


	18. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 7

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: After that long and confusing pile of dren that I call chapter 6, I bet you'd welcome a nice shorty like this. :P This one will be the last for a little bit, as it seems in my haste to finish this giant book, I completely forgot a chapter! Worse yet, it's the next one!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 7:

Floating to the atmospheric level, Thanatos went to speak to the approaching sensation of Ares, but found himself on the receiving end of his fist instead, the bronze knuckles digging into Thanatos' cloaked face with all their might. "WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?"

Thanatos held his sore jawline within the hood. "Idiot. I was salvaging our dignity as best we could. Would you rather have your whole planet alienated from the alliance, like mine was?"

"I could remain as I am now! My people can still see me without the others seeing me! You had to go and blow our cover!"

"It's simple, Ares. Think about it. What reason did we have to leave our planets other than to do our jobs?"

Ares moved to open his mouth, but only ended up making his mouth gulp like a fish. Then, a grin came over his features. "You little sneak. You outsmarted her by letting us keep what we already had. But what about you? No more moonlighting on Mercury for you."

"Didn't you hear me? I was willing to stay on the planet I resided upon. I've been residing on Mercury for years now, much longer than the short week I spent on Saturn."

"It wasn't kind to trick her, Thanatos."

"You already were, by posing as a mortal, Chronos. She's intent upon stalling Saturn's alliance. I'm sure you're used to being held back." Thanatos growled bitterly, pointing out his older brother's faults. Chronos only scowled. "Besides, something tells me she doesn't like us much. What say we make an example?"

Ares was already grinning, so he couldn't be smiling much wider. A sinister chuckle came from his armored frame. But Chronos was not amused. "What kind of example?"

"Let's just see how long they deal without our abilities to defend them. Personally, I think I need a vacation anyway. I'm sick of directing souls and sorting the chaos, as well as dispatching the darkness from this system."

Now Ares held a similar face as Chronos. "I LIKE my job, Thanatos."

"You can still fight your wars, Ares. Let's just not defend the other worlds from outside influence. We ARE neutrals, after all. Once they realize the mess they're in, we save the day. Deal? I mean, how often do we have to defend them? They have a force strong enough to defeat the peons that come to the system anyway. Time they got a taste for real war, instead of the petty squabbles you have to quell. They've become lazy and spoiled. Time to expose them to harsh reality."

"Why Thanatos, are you letting your darker nature take hold of you?" Ares took Thanatos in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles furiously over the top of his hood. "Haa ha ha ha ha! You've made your little brother proud!"

"Ahh, get off me, you moron. Chronos, I know you don't like this plan."

"Not in the least."

"Well, your hands have been full training that pretty little thing you've wrapped your robes around. Isn't it time you introduced her to the gates? It's where she'll be working."

Chronos nodded. "It's true. She's almost ready, once I train her to use her talisman properly."

"Then when you train her fully, you must both reside there, correct? You've left security far too lax at the gates, not being there all the time, like you're SUPPOSED to be. Father gave you that responsibility himself."

Chronos hung his head as he realized his younger brothers were right. He was the eldest of the four, but he was being very irresponsible with his job. He'd let the war and his brief social stint overcome his life's work.

"Then it's settled. We leave them to their own devices, and let them fall into chaos. We can make things better no matter what."

As the three brothers went their separate ways, a pair of silver dots blinked and swam off into the distance.

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"Greetings, worthless one."

The twin silver dots settled before the nebula-like entity that sat upon the edge of the solar system. "Mighty Metallia, the three children of Mother in the solar system ahead have disbanded their protection. Now the worlds are open to our attack."

"Excellent news indeed, mother will be pleased with them. What news of Seth?"

"He appears to have left the system many years ago. His guise must have been in peril."

"Coward. Very well. I have sensed a rabblerouser on the third planetoid of the system. She wields considerable power for a human, and her negative emotions have stirred up much anger amongst the people against the creatures of light. Perhaps she has had contact with one of our kind before. Contact this one. Give her promise of greater power. We need to build an army, and this one could supply it. It's possible that with just myself and the darkness as reinforcement, though the battle will be mighty, they may still be able to stop us. We must divide their ranks further to ensure a slaughter."

"Will that be all, Metallia?"

"Yes. Now go!"

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Rut roh! Thanatos' plan seems ill-advised now. Who is Seth? A spy? The Phantasy Star fans will recognize the name. Metallia has recognized the evil vibrations from Earth... who does Metallia speak of? (like you don't already know:P) See you all next time! 


	19. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 8

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Silly me. In all the time I'd been writing this monstrosity, I completely omitted a chapter! ; If you're the first one to see this besides me, then congratulations:D

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 8:

"What makes these creatures think they can just walk up and take over!" A young woman with long reddish waves cascading down her back shouted to the growing crowd in the caves beneath the planet. "They watch us from above, as though claiming to be gods! They think themselves better than us because they have power to scare us into submission! I assure you, that when they come to our land they will take all we hold dear! Our land, our children, our very birthrights!"

The most of the crowd murmured, while others roared in agreement. "And what do you propose we do about it, Lady Beryl? What can we do against such power?" one shouted loud enough for her to hear.

"We shall fight! What they fail to realize is we too have power. Power in numbers! Our royalty speaks with these creatures from above the skies, and even they are treated with all the respect of a parasite! But if we stand against those who would rob us, we can take what is theirs, and prosper!"

"And how do you know this?" another voice raised.

"Because I was there." a white-haired young man with eyes of the palest of morning blue spoke, coming to stand next to Lady Beryl. "I, General Kunzite, was at that very meeting, when our own king was told to be silent when our people were insulted!"

More of the crowd murmured at that, some having panicked upon recognizing the general's face.

"I have learned of a great power, an army that will back up our own when the time is right." The woman named Beryl continued. "Spells and techniques have been offered, as well as weapons, glory, and riches promised! We have already sent spies to some of the worlds, and the new land they have spoken of is unimaginable! They dare to mock us on our world... let us see how they handle us on THEIRS!"

Cheers rang through the caverns at the prospect of conquest, the dark atmosphere of the caves already changing the thoughts of those present to that of a darker nature. "Go! Claim anything on this world that is not already yours, and convince all you come across, or destroy them! We will need all we can muster to win this war!"

The crowd poured out of the caverns with an echo of a battle cry, and both Beryl and Kunzite grinned, looking to their 'other' guest. "You were right. They're so easy to manipulate when the right motivation is put into place. So it's true then, that your mistress' kin were slain by these creatures of light?"

"Perhaps more than one of them." a writhing shadow whispered in a black corner of the cavern, the only indication other than the warping blackness was a shiny silver set of eyes. "Our mighty mistress Metallia will grant all who follow you great power, as long as they are worthy. This one was a fine candidate... and it was so typical of the Lunarians to speak down upon a race that seems beneath them. They made this almost too easy."

"Well then," the 'candidate' General spoke. "What are the plans for eventually invading these kingdoms above the skies? From what I've seen so far, all we have are a small horde of rioters."

"Metallia needs willing helpers, for even she cannot wage war against an entire alliance of worlds alone. With your skills, we have some military knowledge, but it would be better to have all we can muster."

"I believe that can be arranged." Kunzite nodded. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"We must break apart the alliance, turn the worlds sour one at a time, wait for weaknesses and then strike. Perhaps if Earth were to gain favor by joining with the royalty of these other worlds... but in addition, we'd need to conquer at least one world as a whole, to supply the necessary energy to set the plan in motion."

"So your mistress plans to have a legion of our people wipe out entire worlds with power beyond our imagining, being hopelessly outnumbered, with the goal to eventually conquer all?" Kunzite growled, as though in a disapproving tone. The shadow and Beryl remained silent, and eventually a grin passed Kunzite's lips. "Sounds fun. But one thing I believe we may have trouble with is the guardians. Two of them seem particularly imposing and powerful, and may hinder our plans before they even begin."

"Not to worry, Kunzite." Beryl assured him. "I've been told that the guardians will not pose a problem. They have no idea what's going on at all. If they did, we would have been stopped already."

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"I apologize, your majesty... I fear due to my brother's antics, we may not meet again." Chronos spoke to the young prince of Earth. The prince had remained in training at an unfortunate time within Elysion, the sacred realm of Earth that darkness would have difficulty finding. Because of this, he wasn't able to attend the meeting of the planetary leaders.

"I hope it was not because I had to remain, master Chronos." Endymion apologized to the high priest of Elysion. "I should have finished my training before then."

Chronos merely shook his head and placed his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Elysion's timeflow fluctuates differently than Earth's. Though you believe you took too long, you've made considerable progress. The path of light is not easy for mortals to take on, much less human ones, as they suffer a great deal along the way due to their equally dark nature. Soon you will be able to take the trials, and the spirit of your world will be tied to your own. You will know its every pain, every joy, every new sprout of life. But most importantly, the golden crystal of my father, the very essence of his life, heart, and power, will be yours to harness, but not to possess. You will be the first male owner of a guardian crystal."

"Master Chronos... will we meet again?"

"Indeed so, your majesty. I offer you a token of my friendship, something that I would only entrust to one I put my complete faith in." Chronos reached within his robes and pulled out a ticking timepiece, its star-like design with sun-and-moon rotations, sealed within glass, gave it the impression of a symbol of Chronos' power. "Keep this safe, as long as you exist, and my power will serve you when you choose to order it. Until I return, I leave you, Helios, in command."

A teen who seemed no older than Endymion himself stared astonished at the high priest. "Me? But sir, I..."

"No buts, Helios. You are a priest of Elsyion now. This was never my world to begin with. Continue training the young prince until I return, and guard the crystal and Elysion. I must go back to Pluto as per the queen's decree, complete the princess' training, and return to my duties as master of time. Farewell, Prince Endymion. Farewell, Helios. May the goldlen shine of the crystal of hope guide you in times of darkness." Chronos threw his hands wide and reality pulled away as though it were a drapery, the fog of the dimension of time spilling out momentarily as he stepped through, only to have it pull back in when the dimensional 'drapes' closed.

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Not the longest piece of dren I've written, but one might say it's filler. :P I hate to leave things unfinished, and in haste I skipped the interaction between the darkness and Earth, as well as just how Endy got ahold of that mystical timepiece. Hope you all enjoyed this custom chapter, and be on the lookout for the rest of it soon! See you next time! 


	20. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 9

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Whew! Back to normal. I feel like such an idiot, forgetting such an important piece of the plot. For those of you that think this story is close to over, think again! This particular book is the longest in the series (to my knowledge at least, since I haven't fully tested how long the final ones will be). Now we focus on Ares and his planet Mars, three years beyond the previous meeting of planetary leaders. Plenty can happen in that much time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 9:

Three short years passed. The young princess of the Moon and the rulers of the eight other planets had matured a bit more, nearing their time of choosing. Setsuna had already come to her time of choosing a few years prior. Chronos had taken Setsuna to guard the Gates of Time, and he guarded them whenever a meeting was necessary amongst the rulers. Chronos had taken over the leadership of Pluto when its king aged beyond usefulness, and had soon-after died of old age... which seemed odd since he was only in his forties. Apparently Chronos' abilities aged him beyond help. Ares remained on Mars, still quelling the battles that had come between their own people, and the solar system's defense capabilities were able to handle the bit of darkness that tried to invade every few months. Thanatos remained on Mercury, learning alongside the young princess, who was quickly learning to be queen.

Ares was content to quell the petty arguments and fights that arose both on his planet and upon the rest in the alliance, even assisting Earth if the need grew large enough.

That need was growing quite a bit recently.

Ares began to wonder if Earth's warlike nature meant that they would eventually try to invade another planet, but quickly dismissed the idea, finding it quite ludicrous and not particularly bright, since the closest worlds were Venus and Mars. Quite literally, the proverbial 'rock and a hard place'. They wouldn't even get beyond their own moon before being decimated.

He continued to oversee the the Martian princess' training, in both royalty and battle. Both were required of her now, since her father had passed on, and her mother still refused to show herself. Ares was required to sit in the king's place until she reached the age of choosing, which was soon in coming. Ares chose to do so because it was the most logical step to preventing war on his planet, since the lords would probably battle endlessly for the right to take the throne, even with the princess as the one who WOULD be next in line. Nobody would dare challenge Ares if they could help it.

The Martian royalty's choosing method for suitors stemmed from Jupiter's plan: The current ruler would test that person in battle. If he was found wanting, then he would have no chance whatsoever. But the problem was that now she had no family, since her mother was unreachable. The rules stated Reianna could not test her suitor herself, because she might let her emotions supercede her skill.

"What about a tournament?" Ares asked. "Each of your suitors could battle each other, and the overall victor would be chosen to court you!"

"That wouldn't do much good, Ares. What if I don't get enough suitors to have a tournament?"

"Nonsense! The beautiful and skilled princess of Mars, with no suitors? I would ask any man upon this world if he would want the opportunity to try and court you, and I could guarantee that any and all of them would say they would! If they did not, I would butcher them myself for such treasonous words! Besides, the nobles of Mars are insistent upon fighting and killing each other for the right to rule without my governing eye. Why not put it to use by finding the best warrior amongst them?"

"Then would you have all the men kill each other simply for the right to court me?" she asked, ignoring his compliments. They were said so readily and so often to royalty that it was like stating the sky was pink... which for Mars, it was.

Ares quickly shut his mouth. Indeed, such a thing was not plausable. While the females were the dominant force of the Martian army, the males were wholly necessary as well. "Well, what do you suggest?"

"Why not have my guardian test my suitors?"

Ares' laugh boomed throughout the castle halls. "I think you're asking a bit much, princess! I cannot do such a thing, for you'd never have a suitor!"

"You're rather full of yourself, Ares."

"Oh? I have never been defeated. Never have I even been wounded in combat. No single warrior can stand up to me." he counted off his track record on his fingers as he spoke, when he realized what she meant in asking that of him. "Would you remain alone on the throne?"

"If I needed to. Father remained alone my entire life without anyone. He never chose another."

'He also became ill and sickly without love.' Ares thought, hoping his princess would not suffer the same fate. "Perhaps. But I'd rather not kill any man that comes calling. We'd still run across the same problem, in that we'd run out."

"Then think of it as a basic duel, instead of a bloodsport, for once." she spat, flicking the underside of his chin. He was still quite tall compared to her, despite the fact that she was almost fully grown. She truly held no fear of the planet's God.

"The basic rules of dueling? That sounds fair. First to disarm the other wins. I admit that I may have had my weapon knocked from my hand once or twice, so perhaps you may have a small chance for a suitor after all."

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Choosing a husband and future king for Mars? This could get ugly, especially with Ares as the one doing the choosing! Is he right, in that she will never have someone as long as he was the judge? Tune in next time, and let's have a review or two! 


	21. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 10

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: And so we come to chapter 10! See, you thought this book would be as short as the last one, when in fact it's huge! Ares now has to choose amongst the suitors that come to call for the hand of princess Reianna, but by fighting them! This doesn't bode well at all...

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 10:

Upon her sixteenth day of birth, the suitors began lining up out the door and throughout the streets of the Martian Capital. Ares statement appeared to be fairly accurate, as it appeared every man on the planet 'had' come... even a few women. The nobles insisted they be at the front of the line, and even began arguing about who amongst the nobles would go first before the guards set them straight, but it didn't matter one whit in the end. One by one they came in, and one by one they were sent out, defeated by their very guardian. Many suitors were even discouraged when the ones that came out told them who their challenger was, and within a week's time, the suitors had all but dried up.

Reianna had taken the throne, but the longer she sat in the chair her fire-spirit mother once would have held, she found herself looking over to her father's chair in longing. She remembered that before she became their planet's ruler, but after her father had passed on, Ares would sit in that very chair, delegating what would happen until it was her time to take the throne. He ruled their world efficiently, and certainly there was no more capable warrior on Mars. But she couldn't love him, though... could she? He was older than her father, but he wouldn't age. He was also her instructor, her tutor, her teacher. He always watched specifically over her when not campaigning, and always did what she wished, despite the fact that he could easily rule the whole planet himself, or tear it apart. He was certainly handsome, in a rugged, brutish sort of way. He was also capable of defeating anyone, so what better candidate was there?

She made to speak up and ask him, but a ruckus at the entry to the throne room caught both their attention. The doors burst open to a half-dozen guards wrestling with a man in a gray uniform, short blond hair and blue eyes blazing with anger at how hard he was struggling. A guard was thrown off every few moments, only for the same guard to jump back on again.

"What's going on here?" Ares shouted, and the guards immediatly silenced, only to be knocked away by the blond stranger, save for one who held fast about his neck.

"L-lord Ares, we caught this being near the castle, and he refused to answer our questions. He became violent, and we attempted to bring him here to ask what should be done with him, but he's been very-OOMPH!" the guard took an elbow to the stomach from the stranger, but still didn't let go. "...uncooperative."

Ares walked up to the tall blonde, a curious look in his eyes. He stood out like a sore thumb on this planet since the entire population of Mars possessed raven black hair, except for Ares, whose was flaming red. He eyed the stranger carefully, since upon first glance he appeared to be a man of Venus, but his clothing spoke otherwise. Examining his garb, then straightening up and crossing his arms over his armored chest, Ares spoke. "I recognize you now. What business does one of Earth's generals have in the kingdom of Mars?"

"I have heard tales of the Martian princess' beauty. I have also heard that no man may even court her without defeating her guardian in a duel! I have come to accept that challenge!"

"Hmph. I wouldn't waste my time, boy. You're 'looking' at her guardian. I have defeated every man that has tried. You will be no different. Go home before you embarass yourself."

"Let him try, Ares." he heard from the princess, who was examining the stranger from where she sat. "Certainly you don't fear a general of Earth?"

"Certainly not." he snorted. "Release him."

"My lord?"

Ares growled low, a dangerous rumbling in his throat. One thing he didn't tolerate was a soldier that questioned his orders. The guard removed his arm from the general's neck, and the man quickly stood at the ready to defend himself, despite Ares' generous offer to retreat.

"What is your name, Earth-general?"

"I am Jadeite, Earth's war general. I thought it only fitting to at least try with such qualifications." he said with an arrogant smirk, reaching for his sword.

"Calm yourself, Jadeite. I wish to be fair, here. You struggled a great deal and burned up plenty of strength just getting inside. Rest a while, then we shall duel."

Jadeite's smirk turned to a frown, but his hand eased from his sword handle all the same.

"I would like to discuss some things with you. Perhaps we shall duel after a meal? Dine with your opponent, to know he bears no malice." Ares tried to convince him further, coaxing him out of the throneroom. Jadeite calmed a bit and nodded, and Ares led him to the dining area. Hardly had he expected the guardian, revered as a barbarian, to be calm and collected. "So, you are Earth's war general. Perhaps you can explain what is happening down there. Quelling the battles your people have between each other is becoming tiresome. Why do they fight constantly?"

"They fight because it's in their nature. Earthlings are competitive and selfish. None of them can completely agree on anything."

"Using our own words against us. I like that. So are you any different?"

Jadeite smiled at that. "...of course not. But some of us have enough self-control to not be destructive to each other."

They sat on the wide ends of the table, across from each other, as food was brought out just for the two of them. "Will the princess not be dining with us?"

"She has eaten already. I merely ate little for dinner." Ares ripped off the smoked leg of some large unknown bird and his teeth tore into its flesh, eating like the barbarian Jadeite had heard he was.

Jadeite picked a smaller amount of the food for himself, since the servants didn't seem to be around anymore. Watching Ares eat, he began realizing just what he was up against. The man was easily a foot taller than himself, and had at least three times the muscular build of the average human, and at least twice that of the guards he'd encountered. He'd heard rumors of the guardian of Mars. Most seemed ludicrous. How could something so large move so quickly? But this man, this 'Ares', seemed very commanding and powerful indeed. Even the guards seemed to fear him.

"I've heard you defeated every man on this planet to find the proper person to court her majesty."

Ares grabbed for a goblet of wine and washed down the smoked bird meat. "Ahh. It was not every man, I know that much. Some men quit when they realized they would have to fight me, and of course, most men are already attached to a female. Their females would sooner kill the man than let him try."

"But you have beaten every man that tried."

Ares nodded after wiping his mouth. "And a few women. Now eat, boy! You're going to need your strength!"

'Women?' he thought, realizing such a concept would not work in terms of creating a successor, but returned to his food instead. Jadeite noticed there were no utensils. They truly ate barbarously. He removed his gloves and ate like Ares, grabbing fistfuls of food, foregoing manners.

"That's it, it's just us two men being sporting, sharing a meal before their duel."

Jadeite stopped after a bite of that same smoked meat from the unknown bird. Certainly juicy. "Ares, don't you ever worry about poisoned food? Or perhaps assassins? I've heard you enjoy being in the open more than an enclosed area, and a bowman could pick you off from even one of the pillars, here." he indicated, pointing with a bone that still had meat attached.

"HAH! Even if they were to try that, it would take more than a bit of poison to do me in... and nobody's foolish enough to try and kill me. I made sure of that years ago."

"You're not mortal, are you?"

"Hard to be more obvious than that, boy. Your royal family tell you about me?"

"It was more like a rumor on our planet. Mars' perfect warrior. I put aside most of it as rediculous nonsense. I doubt you'd try to make me believe the same if it were not true."

"What kind of nonsense has spread on your planet?"

"You've never been defeated in your known existence, you suffer no scars, you're immortal, your skill in swordsmanship is unmatched, and you possess the ability to manipulate and generate fire from your bare hands."

Ares simply laughed a booming laugh, one very similar to the one heard when his princess chose him to choose her suitor as her guardian. How accurate the rumors were! "That last one is a little odd."

"I figured it a bit strange, considering-"

Ares interrupted, as though he had never finished his last sentence. "I'm not limited to fire, and I'm certainly not limited to using my hands." Ares set down his goblet and its contents caught fire, flaring up to devour the alcohol. Then he turned over the cup and its remaining contents fell out as a solid chunk of ice. He focused on the ice and it suddenly shattered. Setting the goblet down once more, he simply looked at the chalice and it collapsed in upon itself, crushing everything out from its original shape until there was nothing more than a smooth ball of iron rolling about until it caught in a groove between the boards of the table. Jadeite stared dumbfounded at the ball, which rolled in his direction.

"You... you're as real as they say."

"I had better be. Otherwise this planet would have to fight without me. No real problem in that, but I'd assume there'd finally be losses."

"They also said you were born from a volcano."

He laughed again. It had been a while since he had felt this mirthful. "Now THAT one is a myth, but one that I can explain. Less than a decade ago I made myself known to this world by activating a volcano, and rolling through the molten rock until it came upon the villages. They wanted to kill me when they saw me, since I was an unnatural creature, but they were easily scared off from my power, and I explained what I was. Through my encounter with the people, I determined who would be best to rule, and the royal family has been my friend ever since. The rest is history."

"Hmph. Are you trying to dissuade me from challenging you?"

"Far from it, boy! I'm eager to test Earth's war general! You needn't hurt me in the duel, simply disarm me."

"You say 'simply' as though people would have better luck doing that, than hurting you."

"And still you act sour when food, drink, rest, and company is offered to you." Ares said, having gotten another goblet and poured himself another drink.

Jadeite had yet to try his wine, eyeing the heavy-looking beverage, so he sipped the crimson liquid. Instantly he was grateful he hadn't drank it in large gulps like the giant before him had. It scrubbed and burned his throat like coarse brushes soaked in acid, and he only managed to choke it down before a severe coughing fit hit him. Lord, how could anyone drink the stuff? Was it poisoned, and Ares simply couldn't tell? He soon relaxed when his coughing fit died down, and the burning sensation passed. There were still tears in his eyes when Ares spoke up.

"Good, eh? Martian wine puts fire in your blood and courage in your heart! Though I doubt you need much of that, since you seem intent to challenge me even though you know what you're up against."

Jadeite tried a little more, to not act rude. His coughing fit seemed less severe this time.

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Warming up to Jadeite? What does Ares hope to gain by being friendly with a member of Earth's court? And what of Jadeite himself? Are his motives genuine in attempting to court Princess Reianna? Let's see in our next chapter! 


	22. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 11

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: This will be the final chapter which holds focus upon the planet Mars and Ares for a while. How well will Jadeite fare? What is Ares up to in treating him so well? Why do you continue to read this crap:P

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 11:

"Well, are you ready to begin?" Ares asked after finishing the heart of the giant bird they shared. Not whole, but prepared separately, roasted, and diced. Jadeite had actually shared this as well, and it was surprisingly good. Learning foreign customs and foods was important, especially if joining an alliance with a specific world.

"I do believe I am." Jadeite replied, cleaning his hands in the finger bowls offered by the servants that had finally returned, most of which came to take away the flatware and uneaten food. Replacing his gloves upon his hands, he stood. "But I have a question for you. Did all the men and women who attempted to court the princess receive the same treatement?"

Ares waved his hands dismissively. "Of course not. None of THEM dragged half a squad of guards into the throneroom, and none were higher-ups of foreign worlds, either. Also, I had wanted to speak to you about your people. Apparently you are as confused by their warmongering as I."

"Why do you say that?"

"You never gave me a specific reason other than their nature. I know for a fact that they're disagreeable. Our creator made them that way."

Jadeite sighed. "They want an overall peace where everyone is happy, but they are constantly denied that because nobody has the same ideals or beliefs. Some don't believe the people of other worlds exist... heck, some don't even believe there is anything BUT their world."

"An awful waste of space the universe would be if they were the only ones, wouldn't you say?" Ares asked, motioning for the door back to the throne room.

"I suppose... are we not going to battle in a specific area? Is the throne room the place for such a thing?"

"Of course. The princess will want to see her possible suitor in action. I trained her in that very room myself, in front of her father, King Myhr." Coming through the main doors, the throne room now only held one piece of furniture other than the two thrones: a single table with swords spread over them. "Since part of the fairness is that I may not use my sword of war, you and I may choose from the weapons upon this table."

"Why not use your sword?"

"It is a dangerous weapon to cross. It has never met its equal."

"Apparently neither have you. Allow me to test you with it." Jadeite insisted.

Ares meant to laugh loudly at the bold statement, but stopped when he saw the determination in the young man's eyes. "As foolish as this choice is that you make, it is not my decision." he turned about to the princess. "What say you, lady Reianna? He wishes to test my mettle while I use my red sword."

She had remained silent since they entered, wondering where this was going. Was this man a fool? No being could hope to match Ares when he held the weapon that could drive down armies! "Let him try. He was fool enough to act the way he did coming in, he might as well be foolish in ending his chances and leaving."

Ares nodded and drew forth his weapon. "Your chances of winning have dropped considerably, Lord Jadeite. Be warned that you may not last long at all. Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

"I will not, but I understand your reasoning. I choose the weapon I have brought, my own sword of war. It may not be mythical or powerful, but it has never failed my service in battle." Jadeite bowed respectfully before the princess, then turned to Ares and drew his sword. Both his sword and Ares' were long sharpened weapons, capable of striking an enemy from a distance. But Ares' red sword was different. It wasn't simply red as he stated; it glowed red, as though the metal never cooled from its forging.

"Not that it would help defend you, but would you prefer armor? Some feel safer wearing it."

"No. I'm comfortabe as I am. In fact, I'm sure it would only slow me down."

"Wise choice. Shall we begin?" Ares asked.

Jadeite smirked and began with a swing to Ares' midsection. The red sword quickly countered, hissing and sparks coming as the two blades met. Ares swiped the strike aside after a moment and brought his arm about slicing downward, and Jadeite barely managed to hold his sword in defense against Ares' strength when the weapon came down, the blades still hissing from the heat.

"Well, that's interesting. It's still in one piece." Ares commented at Jadeite's sword.

Jadeite managed a smirk. "As I said, it has never... failed my service!" he pulled out from under the strike and swirled aside, slicing down upon the blade near the hilt, hoping to make the weapon fall from his opponent's hands as it hit the ground, the force would be enough to weaken the giant's grip.

No such luck.

The red blade continued its destructive path as it sliced through the stone floor instead of rebounding off it, and Jadeite's strike only seemed to drive it down further. Ares grinned and pulled the sword free from the stone. "Neither has my sword failed my own service."

Soon the battle became one of survival for Jadeite, often parrying and outright avoiding the red sword, dodging nimbly out of the way. 'Lord, but this guardian is fast! I had hoped that perhaps I could outlast him by letting him exert all his strength, but that doesn't appear to be happening, either. I have to turn this to my advantage, somehow. Perhaps...' Jadeite thought, coming up with a plan as he jumped a strike at his feet.

Suddenly a downward strike came upon Jadeite's unguarded side, and he feared his end. Out of instinct, he reacted.

"DEBAN!"

Ares didn't comprehend the word until Jadeite's arm came about, a transparent shield reflecting the red sword. In his confusion, he also didn't see the hilt of Jadeite's sword strike his jaw, then try once again to knock the blade from his opponent's hand, only this time by slapping the flat of his blade against Ares' wrist. Ares was so surprised from the actions that he nearly lost his grip upon his red sword, the nerves in his arm twitching and weakened. Finding it loose, he tightened his grip with both hands and wrenched the attacking sword back and around, the weapon flying from Jadeite's hand and clattering noisily against the wall.

Jadeite held his wrist painfully, kneeling before Ares. The red sword was held at Jadeite's throat, then vanished as Ares sheathed it. "I fear you have lost your challenge. While you lasted the longest, and while you DID come the closest in trying to disarm me, and though you seem to be the first mortal to ever strike me, I'm afraid the rules are the same. You have been disarmed first, and so you have lost."

Holding his wrist, Jadeite bowed his head, still kneeling. "Though unnecessary, I respectfully concede my defeat."

Ares helped him to his feet carefully after calling two servants to bring bandages and healing balms for Jadeite's strained arm. "You fought well, lord Jadeite. I didn't believe any magics could reflect the power of the red sword."

"Ngh... it's a technique that has been around for the past decade or so. It's not as effective against magical weapons, but it's still enough when in desperate times."

"Regardless, your efforts are to be commended." Princess Reianna spoke. "Phobos, Deimos, please escort General Jadeite to a room so he may rest and heal." she commanded the twin servant girls that had begun bandaging his arm. Bowing, they helped Jadeite out of the throneroom carefully.

"Well, that was most invigorating, my lady. Wouldn't you say? He shows promise, if nothing else. Untrained by me, and yet still able to find a weakness in a master warrior."

'Indeed it was.' came a reverberating voice. Both Ares and Reianna looked in wonder at a female being that stood upon the throneroom's floor, cast aflame.

"You're late for her birthday, spirit."

The flames died down, and a woman very similar to the princess in appearance stood there. Her eyes opened, a fiery red glare coming forth that would probably kill any normal man.

Ares was hardly that.

'Ares... have you thought perhaps you might ease up upon your opponents? You tend to injure almost every challenger.' she finally spoke, approaching him.

"You've been watching the whole time?"

'Of course. I must keep an eye on my daughter, after all.'

"To answer your question, will a warrior ease up upon his nemesis?"

'That's just it. Ares, you realize that you're much stronger than any opponent, and much more skilled, correct?'

"Of course, why would you ask such a..."

'Then you are the most likely to win almost any battle?'

"Yes, but..."

'Then you agree that you are the best candidate for my daughter as courtier?'

Ares blinked. Did she just ask that? "My lady, as much as I would wish to agree, I am immortal, and..."

'As am I. Nowhere in our law does it state we cannot. That, and while family would determine the courtier's eligability, you are not family by blood. I am, and you have defeated every man that has tried. I am not biased by my daughter's emotions or your looks. You are the most qualified to court my daughter.'

Ares couldn't think of a way to fight her words. She was right. Certainly, he had wanted such a thing to happen, but those ideas were dashed when Reianna chose him to be her guardian.

'Do you not wish it, Ares? If so, be prepared to kill yourself, because you stated you would kill any man that said he did not wish it.'

Bound by his own words! Ares could only nod in agreement to her terms. He would have offered if the suitors HAD run out. "I do wish it, my lady. But be warned, I am no easy male to deal with. I doubt either you or your daughter will be able to tolerate me."

'We have dealt with you the past ten years of her life. I doubt there is anything we cannot handle from you.' The queen of flames stated arrogantly. Reianna grinned. The choice was made by her family after all! Her mother had been watching the whole time! 'Happy birthday, my daughter. I am sorry I could not be there for you these long years of your life, but the spirit of flame cannot exist physically for long without a body. You are that very body given form. You are me, given proper shape. I now complete you, my daughter... accept the spirit flame of Mars.' She explained, not even giving her daughter time to respond before she took on her appearance of flame, and shifted into the princess' body.

'Take care of my daughter... of us, Lord Ares.' the motherly voice faded, and Reianna opened her eyes, tears rolling down. She never met her mother, and only got to meet her for a few brief minutes, no words even passing between them before they became one.

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And so the suitor for Mars has been chosen! Ares will have his hands full with the way men are treated on Mars, especially from their queen! Let's hope he's up to the task. Next up? More Thanatos and Amilia stuff! These two were great fun to write about, and I find the comparison and contrast of the characters somewhat refreshing compared to other things I've written (which isn't saying a lot, considering this is the only one I've ever decided to post.) 


	23. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 12

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Well, we now come to the interactions of a more adult Amilia and Thanatos. I hope you've been enjoying reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I'm particularly proud of the next few chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 12:

Thanatos was rather pleased that the people of the system were able to handle themselves so well, instead of having to defend them. He still sorted the people who passed away in their normal fashion, and nobody had died at the hands of their enemies, so there was no real change in his work. But still he kept an eye on Saturn's princess. She was able to see him no matter what when in her presence, and her father had passed away, so naturally she blamed it on Thanatos. Had he not weakened the man upon his first visit, perhaps he wouldn't be in this situation... but then he would not be so friendly with the girl that was teaching him all the interesting things in the universe his father HADN'T intentionally created.

She was quickly growing more beautiful, and her age of choosing had come, yet she did not choose. Mercury's rulership was quite different from that of Mars, in that the younger royalty could only take over when the current royalty passed on the title, or when they had chosen. Certainly she had suitors and courtiers, yet she accepted none of them. He even left her alone when he thought she wanted to be with them only. What was she waiting for? The right courtier? Perhaps it was time to play his hand.

"Amilia..."

"What is it, Thanatos?" The young princess was pouring over yet another of her books, able to acknowledge him without breaking stride in her reading.

"I was thinking... the system of politics the alliance falls under is rather complicated, but what if... well..."

"What are you getting at?"

"I've been hiding here. You know that."

"Of course I know."

"Well, politics were used to try and keep us apart... perhaps there's a way it can bring us together officially?"

She thought for a moment, still not breaking her concentration on the source of her study. She wasn't looking for an answer there, but rather just continuing to read. She wasn't about to fight against Queen Serenity, even for Thanatos. "Don't be silly, Thanatos. I have no problem with the way things have been. I've been careful about when I talk to you."

"Your father's recording devices are everywhere, now that the increase of darkness has been invading. For all we know he has one in here."

She didn't like how paranoid her father was being. They were the closest world to the sun, the LAST place the darkness would probably visit. It would have to get past all the other planets' defenses first. Her father had met Thanatos years ago at the meeting, and she wasn't sure if he had ever connected the dots. He'd never made mention of it. "Maybe you're right. I wouldn't want you to hide forever. I wouldn't be a very good friend if I did, but there isn't much I can do, is there?"

"Probably not much you can do, directly." Thanatos stated flatly. He knew full well how he could bring them together, as well as unite the system with Saturn at the same time. He had thought of it when she made mention of staying friends over the years. "I will visit the queen of the moon after sending my request."

"I've already sent it." She said, looking back at him with a tiny smile. He blinked, then saw the little machine she called a 'computer' sitting next to her book.

"But I'm the one that's going to see her. She'll know, if I sent from here, that I've been here."

"I extended the request for you to come. I'm going to visit."

Her deciding to come along was quite unexpected, but he figured it might work better with her along. "When will we know?"

The little machine beeped, and she smiled. "She wants to see us both."

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Devilish little sprite, isn't she? Amilia, like her future self, is the cleverest of girls, even if her future self is a bit more restrained. What are the two of them up to? Does she already know and isn't letting on, or does Thanatos have something over the Mercurian princess' head? pokes the reader Review? 


	24. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 13

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Just what is Thanatos up to? Going to the queen about permanent residence on Mercury? How does he plan to allow Saturn into the alliance? Didn't you just read all this?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 13:

Thanatos held princess Amilia's hand as they approached the throneroom of the moon kingdom, and she seemed a little bashful doing so. He knew his feelings for this girl, but did she hold the same? It was important that she did, especially for his plan.

The guards were still wary around Thanatos, but they let him pass, since he was welcomed there. Approaching the throne, she'd released his hand, and they both bowed before the Queen of the moon.

"Welcome, Thanatos. Welcome, Princess Amilia. What news have you come to bring? I know the princess of Saturn has not yet matured."

"Indeed not, it is not my reasoning for coming before you today. My request is from both of us."

"I'm listening." she said, holding a smile for her guests. Thanatos wasn't sure if it was just for show to hide her disgust of him, or if it was genuine.

"I've considered this for some time. Before I begin, I must admit I tricked you at our last meeting. I have not resided on Saturn since I first came to this system. I've been staying on Mercury."

"I'm no fool, Thanatos. I'm well aware of what you said. You stated you were not from Saturn to begin with. It didn't take long for me to find out what world you'd been residing upon, especially since you didn't complain when I decreed that you could not leave it."

Thanatos was aghast. "How did you find out?"

"The king of Mercury was kind enough to tell me about young Amilia's 'imaginary friend Thanatos' when the girls first met. At least you did leave when you said, and didn't simply spy upon us."

Thanatos was somewhat angered. Her father knew, and so did the Queen! He'd been hiding all this time for nothing, being played as a fool! But he held his calm, because he realized he deserved such treatment. She appeared to be keeping her calm for him. "I hope you are not angry. I came to speak of that, as well as the fact that we have held back our defense against the darkness, which you no doubt have found. We halted protection not because we are not permitted to leave our worlds, or that we now bear malice towards you, but rather because we have determinted the system's defenses are easily capable of handling whatever turmoil comes this way. It is no longer necessary for us to defend your solar system."

"Indeed. I'm not angry anymore, Thanatos. Since that time, I've wanted to apologize for being so rash in my decision to keep Saturn out of the alliance. I also know why you're here."

"Preposterous. I've not even told Princess Amilia why." he explained, not quite comprehending how she could know.

"Queen Laya of Venus is quite free with information that only individuals may know, regarding... certain things." she held a devious smile for him.

'But Laya only knows of an individual's... Damn! She DOES know!' he thought. This was unnerving. He was going to have to pay a visit to Venus on some 'official business'. "I do so for more than one reason. Do you know that?"

"Excuse me, I'm a little lost here." Amilia spoke, not comprehending where Thanatos was going with his proposal.

"Thanatos came to offer an alliance between Mercury and Saturn, thereby uniting Saturn with the Silver Millennium."

Amilia still looked confused, and turned to Thanatos. Instead, a young man stood in his place. He appeared to be past the normal age of choosing, startling jade eyes stood out beneath purple hair that tied back behind his head in a braid as thick as his arm. He wore an ensemble of one of Saturn's Lords, though that was perhaps lost on them. A deep purple breastplate bore the most attention, and beneath it a black, form-fitting outfit, the black garb of Thanatos seemed to be upon his back like a cloak. At his side was a black cane with a cloudy purple orb attached to its handle.

"I'd hoped to have surprised you with this form in private, Amilia." the young man spoke, then turned his attention to the moon's ruler. "Queen Serenity, I have decided to court princess Amilia of planet Mercury, with her father's permission, and her own, of course. You realize that if she chooses me, there will be no alternative but to allow Saturn into the Silver Millennium. Not only will I need to enforce the rulership of Saturn, which I have neglected, in order to allow the alliance, but it may require the assistance of the Silver Millennium to recover."

"Impressive, Thanatos. I can see that this is truly your wish. Queen Laya would not have informed me otherwise. Come foreward, I must discuss something with you in private."

"Thanatos?" Amilia looked up at the young man, and he smiled somewhat lopsidedly back to her before proceeding to the throne. After a short time before the queen, he bowed and returned to Amilia, the queen nodding and moving from her throne to a door beyond the throne room.

"I told you I was thinking about it, and this was the only way I could concieve. It would work out perfectly if you'll have it." Thanatos explained to Amilia, letting her know that her old plans were indeed plausible.

"I would like it very much..." she said with a blush, then looked away, as if discouraged. "...but father probably won't. He is very critical of Zoicite, the Earth general that came courting. Personally I'm not all that fond of him myself. He seems... I don't know how to put it... rat-like." She explained, scrunching up her nose to emphasize with a giggle.

"Yes, I remember that pretty-boy. Jadeite got better treatment from Ares, that's for sure. At least he was sporting about it."

"What? One of Earth's generals tried to court Reianna, too?"

"Oh yes. Reianna had attracted quite a few courtiers. Ares allowed them the chance to do so, if they could defeat him in battle. But even if they could defeat him, they would have a bit of a time dealing with her."

"That sounds unfair."

"Indeed it was. That's why they chose that method. Jadeite came the closest, though, because he's the most skilled physical warrior on Earth, second only to prince Endymion himself. Besides, Ares loves the girl. She'd gone and chosen Ares anyhow, from what I've heard. The royalty of Venus turned away the Earth general Kunzite as well. They haven't tried for Jupiter, but it seems that Earth really can't worm its way into power, no matter what they do."

"Ares has got a comfortable hold, then. But what about you? Father isn't going to like the fact that you want to court me, normal-appearing or not. He'd rather accept Zoicite."

"It's simple. With the permission of the Queen of the Moon, a lord of Saturn may court you." he said, opening his hand, and a document sprouted forth stating all the rules of his courtship, signed by the Queen. "With your kindness in teaching me to read and write, I drew up a contract and treaty, giving this mortal form a name: Samuru Sotanaht. Perhaps I can teach your father differently of his hateful ways towards me. Let's see what he has to say."

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So that's what he's up to! But can Death pull off being mortal, or even royalty? He's certainly lived on Mercury long enough to know what's acceptable to the people. But must he battle for the right to court Amilia against the pretty-boy, General Zoicite? Will he even get a chance considering King Marcus' bias? 


	25. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 14

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Chapter 14. 25, if you're counting from the beginning. It's amazing that I wrote all this so quickly. 'But you said you've been writing this for 8 years!' I hear you say. Very true. However, this book, the path of finding destiny, took only six months to write and perfect (if you don't count my bungle with chapter 8). Now then, onto the story! Last time we left, Thanatos had taken a mortal guise, something he'd planned for several years, in order to attempt courtship that would unite the worlds. But its been revealed that this was not his only focus, as Venus' queen already knew of his feelings towards Mercury's princess! But the question now is, will the king's suspiscion get the better of him and not even permit such a thing, or can Thanatos' intelligence win the king's heart?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 14:

"Out of the question!"

Thanatos remained kneeling before King Marcus of Mercury in his humanoid form. He had adjusted both the contract and himself, so that he was named Lord Samuru Sotanaht of Saturn. A rather silly sounding title, but one that worked.

"My leige, I know it is not something simple to allow, but you have yet to even hear me out in that-"

"I should have you arrested for even setting foot on my world! Guards!"

"Father no!"

Two guards marched through the door, and Lord Sotanaht stayed where he was, still kneeling.

"Escort this man from Saturn to prison! He has violated the laws of the Silver Millennium!"

"Your majesty, I've already spoken with Queen Serenity. I have permission-"

"LIES! Queen Serenity of all people would not allow such a mockery of the law!"

As the guards hauled Lord Sotanaht up, he threw them off and drew a long blade from his side, tossing it like a throwing knife. Its pointed edge sank into the marble pillar next to the King's throne, wobbling in its place. Tied to the blade was a parchment. "There is my permission. Read it, then do what you will."

The guards had grabbed ahold of him once more as the king unravelled the tie upon the parchment and read, and he refused to struggle this time. The king saw the unmistakable elegant signature of Queen Serenity at the bottom, along with that of Lord Sotanaht, and one spot open for his own signature.

"Let him go... " the king spoke reluctantly, and the guards followed his words. "I do not like Saturn, much like any person of any other planet would. You have almost no traits I would find adding... in fact, I feel you would soil the line of Mercury."

"Such is the voice of bigotry." Lord Sotanaht mumbled.

"Watch your tongue!" King Marcus shouted.

"Watch your own!" Samuru shot back. "Aside from the princess of Saturn, who is not yet ready to ascend to the throne, I am the only existing member of royalty left! I come to this planet peacefully, the only time our kind has even bothered to leave our planet to approach the other worlds, following the rules your alliance has set in place, and I am treated with the disdain of common filth!"

"Were it our decision, we would wipe your accursed planet from our solar system."

"Father, please control yourself!"

"It's all right, princess." Samuru said to her, then looked back to the king with disgust. "I would think that the common fear of man would be bypassed on the planet of thinkers and logic, even at the level of royalty. But it seems that such hatred cannot be avoided, be he peasant or king. I've known about your search for corruption. It has evaded you because it already possesses you. It is not a corruption of a body, but of a mind."

The king was in a fury. 'How dare he! This man represents death to all things, and he accuses me of... he...' then his anger gave way. He saw the hurt expression in his daughter's eyes, and the anger in the eyes of the man who was his guest. He learned years ago that the world of Saturn was only feared because of their God's actions. The people were good people, just persecuted and hated. Was he such a fool that he'd fall into old customs? He visibly relaxed. "You are right Lord Sotanaht... loathe as I am to admit it, it would seem that I am blinded by a decade of fear and hatred. I know of the benefits your world would offer the Silver Millennium. Indeed, Mercury would be most appreciative of any technology you have built. Could you enlighten me as to what type of technology your world represents?"

"Most of our technology is medical in nature, sire."

"Truly? That would indeed be most helpful. Some people in this system have been ailing of late due to a strange malady. Even our late Queen, my wife, suffered."

Samuru could feel the sadness behind the king's words. Could Saturn's medical magics and technology have saved the queen of Mercury? Thanatos knew that only his distant brother Noah knew such magic that could heal illness. His magics and those of Saturn were regenerative in nature. "Despite being a planet that represents death, our magics are very powerful in encouraging life. The technology only makes things easier for us."

"So your people are healers?" the king asked.

"You learn something new every day." he smirked.

"I deeply apologize, Lord Sotanaht... may I call you Samuru?"

"Of course, my lord."

"Samuru, please forgive my rudeness, for I have gravely misjudged you. I feel somewhat safer in accepting you to court my daughter... whether my daughter accepts you, however, is another matter." he went to remove the parchment totally from the blade, and sliced open his palm. "Argh!"

The king made to freeze the wound since it was so deep, but Samuru stepped forward. "Allow me. It was my blade that did this damage."

He took the king's bleeding palm and poured his energies into the wound. His Gires technique was necessary to heal a wound like this, since it possibly sliced to the bone, but nothing so serious that required Nares. The king watched in awe as the wound took on a soft glow, and the blood seeped back to his hand, the vessels and veins re-knitting, then the muscle, then skin, where not even a scar remained.

"Incredible!" the king held up his hand and flexed it, turning it over in the light. "There isn't even any pain! This ability is common to your people?"

"Oh, yes. But it can be taught as well as having been born with it. I just recommend not using your hand too much until tomorrow. It's like repairing machinery. The weld is set, but it needs time to cool to bind back together permanently."

"Of course." he said, signing the document and handing it over. He attempted to remove the blade with his other arm, grabbing the handle this time, but had little success. "Quite a bit of strength you have, Samuru."

"I feel very airy and light on this world. Perhaps it is because my planet's gravity is greater... though I 'was' angry." he replied, bracing his foot against the pillar and pulling the weapon free, small bits of marble clicking noisily as they hit the floor. "I shall pay for repairs."

"Nonsense. Your eye-opening knowledge, and the technique you've shown are payment enough. Enjoy your stay on Mercury, and good luck." he leaned close to him and whispered: "A little advice... she loves to learn. If there's anything you can teach her... "

"Say no more. I want no unfair advantage over any of her other possible suitors, sire." he stopped the king, already knowing quite well that Amilia loved to learn.

"A noble action, but at least hear me when I say to steer clear of the Earth general, Zoicite. I've found him to be quite a tricky one. He was intelligent enough to be allowed to court my daughter, but right now you have a commanding lead over him in my book. Being royalty doesn't hurt either, of course."

"Thank you, my liege. I shall. Princess, if I may?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to join him. She took it and felt the warmth she never felt from him before... was this even the same man? She felt a small flush of warmth fill her cheeks as he helped her from her seat, and they moved from the throne room to the courtyard, where she finally spoke when she was sure no one else could hear them.

"You never told me you could heal people like that."

"You never asked. The people of Saturn are indeed proficient in the art, but some are more skilled than others. Even Earth's prince has learned the basics of the ability from Chronos."

"Can anyone learn?"

"Almost everyone has the most minor skill in healing. If they didn't, sores and cuts would remain open forever, and people would bleed to death, or always get infections that would kill them. There are a rare few that lack the ability in this universe, though."

"But if that's the case, then aren't you burning your own energy to accelerate the healing of others, or even yourself?"

"Very good. Yes, you can expend a good deal of energy trying to accelerate healing. It depends on the severity of the wound, the level of skill used, and just how much energy you can afford to burn per day. Depending on your skill, you can turn this energy into any form, be it curative, creative, or even destructive. A good night's rest and plenty to eat should be enough to restore the lost energy, too. All it takes is a little work. With how busy you've been studying to be ruler of this planet, you haven't had much time to learn such things. Once you have a little more time, I'll teach you, if you like. Time you learned from me, instead of me from you."

"I would like that very much. Thank you Than... Lord Sotanaht." she said, correcting herself and smiling.

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A welcome start to the love of death, and one that will be temporarily put on hold. WHAT? Just when it will start getting good!

Yes, I'm afraid so. Other things take precedence... such as furthering Chronos' story, as well as more interaction with Noah, the distant master of Fate in Algo. It'll be back soon, though. Enjoy! 


	26. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 15

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: A shorty. Live with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 15:

-'Damn it all... Chronos! Ares! Thanatos! Anyone! ANSWER ME!'-

Noah struggled to communicate now that he had thawed. He had to keep his telepathy at a low frequency, or the mechanical monstrosity that ran the Algo solar system would find them, and wipe them out. The result was that it was taking years to transmit his thoughts out to find where his brothers had resided. Horror flooded his features when he found the solar system in which they were supposed to be residing.

The darkness had already tracked them down! -'But... why is it waiting? Is it watching for a moment of weakness? A sign? Hmm... well, as long as it's idle...'- he thought, then found his brother Ares in a light sword match with one of his soldiers on the fourth planet.

-'Ares! Can you hear me?'-

Ares looked up from his fight, and the soldier took that as a moment of weakness, only to have his sword swiped aside without Ares looking or thinking. -'Noah? Rat bastard, you waited to call while I was sword fighting to try and mess me up on purpose, didn't you?'-

-'Ares, shut up and listen! Darkness has been spreading like wildfire! There is a stronger form of Falz sitting outside your solar system... almost like it's waiting for something!'-

-'Falz? That little freak you fought in Algo? I still say he gave you too much trouble.'-

-'I wasn't strong enough then. I haven't improved much, Alis left, Odin died, and I haven't seen Myau since last time I was frozen... and now it's much more powerful! What's worse, it's multiplying! There's one here, one where you are, and at least one more!'-

-'Well I'd be able to sense if it were coming. Still, I'll keep the troops at the ready, and inform the others. By the way, why the hell are you whispering?'-

-'I have to keep my power low. I'm under surveillance on this world, and the people that I've trained are hunted daily. I fear that Falz has not forgotten his defeat at my hands, and wants me eliminated by using the system-wide monitoring and safety device of these worlds.'-

-'All right. I'll look into our problem. Thanks for the warning.'-

"Uhh, Lord Ares? Are you all right?" the soldier was rubbing his wrist, which was strained from the sword being knocked clear. Ares realized he looked rather silly looking up to the sky. He didn't recall how long he was doing so.

"I'm fine. I was communicating with my brother far away, and he's warning me of incoming war. What's odd is I didn't sense it coming."

"We are ready when you command, Lord Ares!" the soldier stood to attention.

"Good. Now pick up your sword and use your other arm. We're going again." he said, then thought to himself as he parried the soldier's thrusts, lunges, and slashes. 'Good thing they're ready. This may very well be the boost we need to let this solar system know they need us. My brothers will understand.'

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Cocky bastard, isn't he? Ares believes his knowledge of war will inform him when the possible attack will occur. Can he depend on his natural abilities? 


	27. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 16

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Another little short chapter to further the plot along, and include a little backstory for those of you who are beginning to wonder just HOW this could possibly be crossing with Phantasy Star.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 16:

Setsuna's training had begun in the use of her talisman, now atop a staff crafted like a key. The key was symbolic of many things related to time: unlocking memories, unlocking the past, and unlocking the future. Her talisman's abilities harnessed not only Chronos' power, but a bit of Thanatos' power as well. This mixed ability made her a dangerous foe: the perfect guardian for the gates of time. With her guarding them, and not really needing that much more training, it was time for Chronos to go back to his unfinished project.

Several years ago, before the existence of the Silver Millennium, a particularly large ship had suddenly sprouted up in this solar system. The beings on-board had stayed on the numerous planets of the system, spreading word to the world's natural inhabitants of their exploits in the destruction of a great evil upon their ship. Lune, one of the most powerful, had taken residence upon the moon, and gave birth to the powerful members of Earth's Moon, hence their name, the Lunarians. Princess Sari of Satera had decided to settle on Jupiter, especially when their prince had defeated her in battle, thereby earning his right to marry her, by her people's laws. The beauty of Laya, the powerful being of the ship's ages gone, had captivated the people of Venus, and its prince, as well. Lune's sister Alair sought life away from her brother, and found peace upon Pluto, where she later courted its lord.

But all these things were related to fate. Noah would know these things best, that they must have some cosmic balance or reason to them... but Noah was asleep. Chronos didn't have the heart to wake up the only brother that understood him. What bothered him was that this ship did not belong. Indeed, before the ship appeared, he had seen it nowhere else in the universe. The ship was essentially a travelling mass of planets, and after near-everyone had abandoned it, the ship was left to the animals and machines to care for itself, and to drift in space. Not only was the ship almost a derelict, being over a thousand years old, but it was sent away to make a quarantine: the evil on board would awaken once again, one day, and though they'd sealed it away in the ruins, going so far as to bury the city itself in a massive explosion, it still was not safe to remain on board. Sending the ship into space when it should have been launched into the sun, they prayed the evil on board never reached anyone else.

'Where?' he thought, searching the timeline. 'Where did it come from? Did Noah send them here to prepare the system for something? Perhaps a twist to let them escape their own fate? No matter the event, these worlds were affected with powerhouse lineage. For those reasons... was that why they were sent? Were the creatures that settled supposed to be our mates, and we simply waited instead? Certainly it couldn't be that. Noah didn't like the idea of matching us up with mates in the first place, so I doubt he'd go out of his way to do such a thing. I love Setsuna dearly, and Lune's sister Alair is Setsuna's own mother... who else could honestly take her place? Laya was certainly a beauty, and a long-lived one... no, that can't be it. Why were they brought here?'

Chronos slowed the sands of time in his hourglass, going back a thousand years, and searching the cosmos over for the ship's construction. The process of reversing time was safe ONLY in his dimension of observation, cut off, where time was not reversed for the rest of the universe. He scoured the cosmos and timeline endlessly, going over time over and over again, searching for the ship's genesis, its first voyage, its purpose... even the past thousand years it supposedly travelled.

Nothing.

'I must find it.' he thought, determinedly. 'I must find it, or it will bother me indefinitely. I'd rather search forever than let this bother me forever!'

But in his dereliction of duty, Setsuna remained at the time gates, the only one to defend it, and weakening the crucial outermost defense of the Silver Millennium... Pluto.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Did Chronos' return to duty doom the Silver Millennium to destruction, or did something else contribute to it? What will happen next?

I'll tell you what! Further exploration for the love of death! Next time on The Path of Finding Destiny: courting death! XD 


	28. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 17

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: and back to the courtship of Mercury, a mere month later! What surprises are in store for you readers? Any progress in their relationship? C'mon people, if there was, I'd have written about that first, right? XD Enjoy, folks!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 17:

Samuru and Amilia were on one of their walks a month after his initial transformation, arm in arm, discussing like the intellectuals they were. Despite his offer of courtship, they still spoke and acted as friends.

He probably wouldn't have it any other way.

Their current discussion stemmed from the lessons he wished to teach her regarding the use of her body's energies. He seemed very animated and happy teaching her, for once.

"...so you see, once this energy is properly harnessed and concentrated, it can be used for anything, from creation to destruction, from preservation to neutralization. With your people's natural ice abilities, you could instantly deep-freeze your opponent or almost any liquid, set a room for preservation of supplies, or even do something as simple as cool your drink."

"Could you show me something like it, Sam?"

"Well, let's see..." he said, outstretching his hand. "First, you concentrate the energy to a focal point somewhere in your body, a place where you can concentrate upon it easily, and it won't flutter off to the rest of your body again. Then, picture a shape in your hand if the energy you're going to use requires form. Most of the time it does, and the most common form is the sphere. Once you picture the outline of the shape, shunt the energy you focused into the shape."

A yellow sphere the size of a ball sprouted and grew, floating over Samuru's outstretched hand, and Amilia stared at it in fascination.

"Now that you have the energy, you can convert it to what you need. You simply need to think of the chemical equation for each type. Ice is simple, in that all you need to do is concentrate on the decreased temperature of water molecules." The ball became blue and crystalline in appearance, and he held it out for her. "Don't touch it, just try to hold it with your own energies, like I showed you before."

She took the ball carefully, and she could feel the sensation of cold floating inches above her palms, the crystalline blue sphere glowing ethereally. "So, what is done with it now?"

"Depending on the concentration, and what you have in mind for your attack or use, you can launch it any number of ways. If deep-freezing a liquid, you would simply drop the sphere into the liquid." he said, looking back in the direction of their 'observer'. One of the conditions of their courtship was observation, but the one watching was being far too nosy. They weren't supposed to notice the observer, but being an immortal, Thanatos was far more aware of his surroundings than most. He had a devious idea to put distance between them and the observer. "In the case of freezing a room for preservation, I suggest a spread attack. This would work in combat as well, as something to both confuse and disorient your enemies."

"All right... so if I strike it with the back of my hand, then it will cause the spread in whatever direction I face?"

"Essentially, but with only one hand it will be more focused. To spread it, smack it with both forearms in a cross-section strike, palms outward. Let's say... your opponent was chasing you, and you wanted to lose them."

Amilia looked around in thought, and continued for him. "Since there's no shelter or area to lose them around here, you can make some until you can reach it?"

"Very good. You could also use it to make sure your enemy does not see the killing blow coming. Now then, launch it behind us."

"What, right now?"

"Of course. The people of the planet won't mind a little cold mist, and it will dissipate eventually. It's not like I can get rid of the energy once summoned."

She seemed a little apprehensive at trying, but she concentrated to hold the ball in place as she crossed her arms in front of her face. She gulped and swung out with both arms, striking the ball, which exploded out from her direction in a shower of bubbles filled with freezing mist that popped, causing a particularly dense fog.

"I... I did it!" she exclaimed, but Samuru grabbed her hand.

"What are you waiting for? Your enemy's confused! Run!" he said with a smile, pulling her along into a dash. She giggled as they dashed to a nearby hilled area, and Samuru could hear the angry chattering curses of their cold observer now far behind them, unsure of their direction. They ducked behind the hills and trees, breathing heavily not so much from running, but from laughing and the excitement.

She hugged him and they swirled around in a circle for a moment, and her cheeks flushed at the realization of how she was acting, and the feel of warm hands around the small of her back. She gulped, looking up at Samuru, who only held the warmest of smiles. Creating the fog was easy compared to this moment, her heartbeat accelerating once more, faster than when they'd made a run for it. Her lips parted, and her head tilted upward as his head came down to meet her, a brushing of his lips against hers before they met more insistently. Her eyes drifted closed and she sighed internally. 'Is this what princess Serenity felt when with prince Endymion? No wonder she seems so happy lately...' She could feel her whole body heating up from the kiss, which ended far too soon at the snap of a nearby twig, where both looked up.

"Naughty, naughty, Lord Sotanaht." there stood Zoicite, gray general uniform rumpled up slightly from leaning against a nearby oak, a distinct scowl on his sharp, pretty-boy features. "Such activities aren't proper during your courtship, you know. And princess, I would think you'd know better."

Amilia appeared to back away from the accusation, her face still flushed. But instead of being so from love, it shifted to shame. Samuru's hand clasped at her own, hoping to give her strength, and she looked up at him, puzzled. He would have liked nothing more than to be himself and simply force death upon this man, even if it DID break one of the rules he'd set for himself, but he decided to follow Ares' rules of competition. After all, that's what Zoicite was, as a fellow courtier: competition. "You of all people should know, Zoicite, that if princess Amilia does something, it is well thought-out and intended. You insult both her honor and her intelligence with such a comment."

Zoicite seemed slightly taken aback by that statement. He'd figured this lord from Saturn would be flaky and soft, since their trust here balanced on the edge of a knife. An arrogant, feminine chuckle came forth from the general. "Do you intend to harm me, Lord Sotanaht? Not particularly bright."

"I have no such intentions. But even if I did, you have no protection from the rest of the alliance 'yet'. A war between your world and mine would be filled with speculations of dread by your warriors, and would be settled by the kingdom of Mars anyway. You and I both know that. But I know that it would eventually come to a duel between you and I though, because I'm only assuming you care for the princess as much as I do."

Zoicite grit his teeth. This lord was very confident... perhaps rightly-so. It wasn't so much the fact that his skills were a mystery since few ever went to Saturn, but as a general of Earth, attacking a future member of the alliance would ruin any possible alliance for themselves. This lord had somehow gained the positive favor of king Marcus the first day he arrived; something Zoicite was STILL trying to achieve.

"Do you accept my challenge, Zoicite? A duel, for the honor of Princess Amilia. If you win, you may tell the king of my actions, and I will receive any punishment he chooses. When I win, you will no longer court the princess."

"IF I win? WHEN you win? You sound very confident. I am a skilled tactician and swordsman."

"I hear that General Jadeite believed the very same thing. He was your teacher, was he not? Yet he was bested on Mars by Lord Ares. I'd say no finer swordsman exists, and he taught me."

"HAH! I call your bluff! Saturn could not have had interaction with other worlds. This was the first sanctioned allowance of such a thing!"

"There were no rules about others visiting our planet. Lord Ares was kind enough to trade supplies after a brief squabble on our world since we are only two planets apart, and both Jupiter and Neptune refuse to trade. In exchange for some of my own... talents, he taught me the mastery of swordplay." he lied. While Ares HAD taught him long ago, he couldn't let on about his true lineage.

"Very well! We shall duel here!"

"With no witness aside from the princess herself? Please Zoicite, do you take me for a fool? This duel will take place at the palace."

"Then let her decide when the battle is won! I WILL duel you here!" Zoicite said, pulling forth a rapier.

"I was mistaken. It is I who should be taking you for the fool." Lord Sotanaht muttered, turning the head of his cane with a click, and drawing out a similar long thin blade. The handle snapped down to be held safely. No hand-guard was there, and none was needed. "Please stay back, princess. It's time I taught this rogue a lesson."

Amilia meant to protest the fight, but she could see the anger in both men's eyes. She couldn't very well stop them even if she wanted to. It seemed a bit exciting to her to see men fighting over her, but observing a fight was not something she enjoyed.

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Uh oh! Jealousy sparks between rival courtiers! It's already been determined that Amilia doesn't like Zoicite all that much, but what if he wins? Thanatos may have all the time of his existence to practice sword-fighting, but who says he isn't bluffing? What is Zoicite up to, insisting on holding the duel in the forest they stood in? What was he even doing watching them in the first place? All this and more, coming soon! 


	29. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 18

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: The battle for the honor of Mercury's princess! Action at last! Zoicite is quite the trickster aside from his sword ability. Can Lord Sotanaht win without relying upon the power of Thanatos, and if not, who will be the first to cheat by using their powers?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 18:

Zoicite couldn't understand it. This Lord of Saturn had to have been bluffing. Neither of them had found a hole in the others defense during their duel, but the day was quickly wearing away. Zoicite began feeling himself tire as he barely dodged another thrust, his body becoming sluggish and unresponsive.

"What's wrong, Zoicite?" Lord Sotanaht grinned as he parried another thrust from the earth-general. "You seem to be losing your edge." He was only playing around with Zoicite by an immortal's standards. He was fair in that he was using only his mortal strength and reflexes, but he was still using his heightened senses to be able to perceive any and all incoming attacks.

'Looks like I'll have to be tricky in order to beat him, because all this noise of swordfighting and movement is going to attract unwanted attention, if it hasn't already.' Zoicite thought, then smiled mischeviously. "Time to end this! ZOI!" a wind and leaf blast erupted towards Samuru, who simply narrowed his eyes and shielded them, moving a bit to appear off-guard, especially since he knew Zoicite was no longer in front of him.

Thanatos had observed Zoicite in battles before, using illusion abilities that would confound and distract even the best warriors. He'd realized this was a mix of two abilities, the 'zan' technique which manipulates the wind, mixed with the skill of illusion. Relying upon his expanded senses, he raised the rapier above his head in an overhead parry, feeling the successful clang of meeting metal. Thanatos had heard tales of Zoicite's speed and mastery over illusion, and now he had observed a bit of them himself. 'Let's see just how good he is.'

Zoicite thought this would be cake. True, this lord was a skilled swordsman, but nobody was able to take him when both wind and illusion could blind his opponents. They often distracted as well to allow him to move aside, to give a deathblow. Suffice it to say, confusion overcame him when he decided on a downward strike from above, only to connect with metal. He wasn't even looking! Perhaps he wasn't bluffing.

"Dirty play, Zoicite." he said, swiping the sword aside and moving behind him, then shunting out of the physical plane once out of his sight by falling through his own black cape into the garb of Thanatos, forcing his voice through. "Two can play your game. Can 'you' fight what you can't see?"

Zoicite panicked. This was no ordinary pampered royal! He tried to listen for movement, darting his eyes about to find his opponent in the trees, or behind bushes, but there was nothing. Then, he felt the cool metal rest against his neck.

"That could have been your head. Concede."

"Fight fairly!" Zoicite shouted angrily, trying to look behind him without much success.

"Would you have? You sought to end the fight most unfairly."

"I swear, I will use no further tactics, if you agree to the same!"

Thanatos thought for a moment, and he clenched his free fist, empowering his Seals technique around Zoicite. If he attempted any abilities like he had previously, he would forefeit. "Agreed. I release my order to concede defeat, as long as we fight fair. I hold you to your word." he said, easing his blade away from his opponent's neck, and resuming himself upon the physical plane.

Zoicite turned about and held out his weapon to his opponent, giving a smirk that looked more like a sneer. "I must say, you 'are' quite skilled. My illusions are usually strong enough to easily end any fight. But not only did you anticipate my move, you were able to be illusory yourself, to make yourself invisible."

"There was no illusion. I am able to simply move without noise, and quickly at that. Easy enough to remain behind your opponent when they're confused." he lied. Mistakes are made when your opponent is enraged.

"You... you tricked me! You agreed to it simply to win the fight easier! Well then, I renege my agreement!" Zoicite meant to push enough force into his blast to knock his opponent back, but instead he felt as though he were punched in the stomach. He dropped his sword and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.

"You have broken your word, and barely a minute after giving it. Concede."

"You... you fight unfairly!"

"I fight justly. You would go back on your word to not use your abilities."

"YOU are doing the SAME!"

"Even if I had, you had done it first, which would make the rule pointless... but I have done no such thing. The only time I used any abilities was 'before' I agreed, when I bound your abilities to only physical and basic mental, because I did not trust you. Rightly so, it seems, because now your powers turn on you, just as you have turned upon your honor."

"How... how can you?"

"Don't be such a child, Zoicite. It was your own deceit that brought this pain to you. Either fight in your condition, or concede."

"No."

He put his blade under Zoicite's neck. "Concede!"

"Never."

He pulled the sword away and Zoicite relaxed, only to wince as a slice arced over his cheek from a grazing of Lord Sotanaht's rapier. A faint line of red began to form, and Zoicite held his hand to his face, then looked at the blood that was now on his glove.

"You now lose on three counts. You have dropped your weapon, you have gone back on your word in the duel, and first blood was drawn against you. You have lost." Samuru snorted as he picked up the sheath of his long thin sword, sliding it back to make his cane whole, snapping the handle back into its proper position. "Goodbye, Zoicite. I expect to hear your resignment to courting Princess Amilia." he glared dangerously at the general. "Pray we never meet again."

As Samuru walked away, Amilia approached and took his arm to head back home. As much as she enjoyed the moment before this all started, this would have to be reported to her father.

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Poor Zoicite. People nowadays take honor so lightly, and this is prime example of when your assurance will get you in trouble when giving it out freely. Does this mean the end for the pretty-boy? Was he too part of Beryl's plans? Oh yeah, remember her? XD More, next time! 


	30. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 19

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Almost twice the size of the last book now, and nowhere near done! I'm surprised I haven't received any reviews since chapter 11 was posted, but it's not altogether unexpected. The Sailor Moon Crossover section tends to be flooded with Sailor Moon/Harry Potter crosses. Besides, how many people think of Phantasy Star anymore... especially when reading fanfiction?

Anyhow, Thanatos realizes he should explain himself to the king since the duel would probably get him in trouble, and give a good reason for Zoicite to quit... but will he?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 19:

As Samuru and Amilia walked back to the castle, an uneasy silence hung in the air. Thanatos didn't mind the silence normally, but that was because silence was only present when he was alone. He had company that hadn't uttered a word since they'd kissed. Was she regretting it, having watched them fight? Did she feel differently about them now? "Amilia..."

"Sam... Thank you."

He blinked. "For what?"

"I froze up from Zoicite's accusation. I dislike conflict, and with keeping your identity a secret, and with my... liking you..." she forced back a blush at that. "When he accused me of doing that, I did feel ashamed... OH! Not of the kiss!" she quickly tried to correct herself when he didn't seem to react at all. He still didn't. "Just... of how we're going about this. Father should know."

"I intend to tell him about what I'd done."

"I mean about hiding who you are."

Silence invaded their air once more, and she pulled at the arm escorting her to get him to stop and look at her.

"Thanatos... I want him to know. If he were to find out after the fact..."

He placed a finger against her lips and closed his eyes, only nodding at her words. "Very well, Amilia... for you... for us, I will tell him."

She drew her arms around his neck as he lifted her, a heartfelt hug being all they dared when in the open.

Some short hours later, when the two of them returned to the castle grounds, the guards escorted them both to the throne room.

"Lord, Sotanaht." The king spoke. He noticed the king did not speak his first name, something he'd grown accustomed to, so he knew something was definitely amiss. He certainly didn't look like he was in a very patient mood. "I give you the opportunity to explain your actions this afternoon."

Had the observer caught up with him while he and Zoicite were dueling? Perhaps with the hug? "May I inquire, my lord, as to what actions you wish me to explain?"

"The actions against his daughter." came a familiar voice, and Zoicite moved from behind the king's throne.

Samuru glared at Zoicite and supressed the urge to sneer at him. Had he told the king anyway, despite their agreement? Did this man have no honor? "My lord, indeed I can explain. Your daughter and I care about each other, and for a brief moment, we expressed it. This arrogant speck has obviously told you already, despite our agreement."

"Agreement! He claims to have caught you in the forest molesting my daughter after evading your observer with an illusion!" The king positively roared, anger flickering in his eyes like poisoned daggers. Samuru grit his teeth. He would never! Once this fool Zoicite was dust, he would rend the man's soul to ribbons! But before he could retort, the king quickly stood and fired an icebolt at Lord Sotanaht, who slammed his cane's foot on the floor, a purple wall-shaped shield protecting both him and the princess. The blast crystallized on the energy wall, and he released the defensive shield, the king stupefied by the act as the frost dropped harmlessly to the floor.

Samuru attempted to resume his calm, but had difficulty keeping it out of his voice. The man not only just attacked him, but could have harmed his own daughter as well! "Your majesty, as I stated, a tender moment was shared, nothing more. This jealous courtier wishes to undermine me in order to raise himself in a competition he has forfeited."

"Forfeited! What grounds do you have to speak of such nonsense!" the king spat.

"He spoke dishonorably upon both myself and the princess, and when I challenged him to a duel, he insisted it remain in the forest, where there were no spectators save the princess herself. The rules were simple: if he lost, he would give up his courtship. If I lost, he could report what I had done. He lost upon the three ground rules of dueling combat: first blood, proving your word means naught, and dropping your weapon. The slice upon his cheek was my mark. The blood is still on my blade, if I must prove it."

"Your majesty! I attacked him when I caught him in his act, and tried to stop him! I got the slice when he fought back, and I teleported here to inform you!"

The king only glared at Samuru. "Can you prove there was a duel? The blood means little if he was trying to stop you."

The lies! But he realized, lies were all of what this was about. He himself was a lie. He might as well play the game. "I doubt a mighty general of Earth, and such a skilled warrior, would run at the first cut upon his face, and not even try to stop an attack upon the woman he was courting with all his might. I bear no such marks myself, and as you can see, he IS carrying his sword." Samuru said smugly. Zoicite sneered from behind the throne, and the king looked slightly amused, his anger diminishing. Perhaps he already believed him? "Yes, indeed there is a way to prove the duel took place. Many ways, in fact. But I'd rather not make your daughter defend me. After all, since he claims I have done her ill, I could be 'coercing' her. Zoicite, you say you teleported directly to the king, correct?" He glared at Zoicite, who didn't answer, and smirked. "Then cast your illusion upon me."

"W-what?" Zoicite stammered.

Samuru turned back to the king. "Zoicite couldn't have teleported to find you. When I was dueling him, one of the ways he lost was to go back on his word." he explained. "I convinced him to refrain from his illusions, but even though he swore not to, I did not trust him. I cast a spell to seal his magical abilities, then agreed to also not use my abilities. He broke his word by trying to use his illusion after he claimed I tricked him. It would be impossible for him to teleport here, because his abilities are still sealed. I imagine he probably had a horse nearby that allowed him to come here before us, since we returned straightaway. An ability like that would require more concentration than would be available were I molesting your daughter, as he claims." he explained to the king, then turned his head to Zoicite. "What are you waiting for? Prove me wrong! Cast your illusion!"

Zoicite found himself unable to do so. He only stared at Saturn's Lord in horror, trying to figure out how he could explain it.

"You see, your majesty, he cannot. If he tries, he will be in a tremendous amount of pain, and his spell will fail anyway. He fears his own pain more than your wrath, apparently. But then again, he can't exactly escape, because his teleportation is restricted as well."

The whole time, Amilia remained on Samuru's arm, silent. The king's angry gaze now burned into Zoicite. "It... it disproves almost nothing of my accusation!" was his only defense. But it was a powerful one.

"Quite right... remove your enchantment, Lord Sotanaht." King Marcus ordered him. While it was not proven that Lord Sotanaht HADN'T molested the princess, the 'witness' was proven to be not entirely credible. Samuru nodded, a wave of his hand was all that he needed, and Zoicite instantly felt the lingering pain from earlier fade. "Now then, do you deny casting a spell of illusion to evade your observer?"

"I do admit that in part. I generated the energy for the spell in order to teach your daughter some defensive capabilities, but it was originally to teach her the use of her body's energy. With a simple ice spell, her use of the energy caused a fog. We then ran off, as though we were escaping an enemy, just as I was showing her. Unfortunately, we had both run too far, and I'd forgotten the observer." Samuru knew about leaving the observer behind. He simply wanted to teach him a lesson, in that he was following far too close. But it was honest in that he hadn't intended to LOSE the observer altogether, only to simply put distance between them.

Finally, the king's piercing gaze fell on his daughter. "It's true, father. I had completely forgotten about our observer, and I'm pretty sure Lord Sotanaht did as well."

"Then tell me about your 'tender moment'." he demanded, expecting her to be too embarrassed if Zoicite spoke the truth.

"We shared a kiss, father. A kiss that was interrupted by Zoicite. Everything else happened as Lord Sotanaht said."

King Marcus raised an eyebrow. Her eyes shone like they always had. She wasn't embarrassed to tell her father something so personal? "Hnn... You know that such a thing was improper, Lord Sotanaht, no matter the process afterward."

Samuru lowered his head. "I understand, your highness, and I am willing to accept any punishment you deem necessary... but I would certainly not force your daughter to do something she did not want."

"Amilia, is what he says true?"

She looked up to Samuru, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, the blush from earlier creeping back into her cheeks. "It is... because I choose him."

"NO!" Zoicite shouted, using his released powers to summon a sword of ice as he suddenly leapt from the king's throne area. Samuru was so distracted from her confession of her feelings, that he only looked up in enough time to raise an arm to defend himself and the princess from the attack, and to step away slightly. It wasn't nearly enough time to raise his shield again.

His arm hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Samuru clutched at the remains of his forearm, trying to stop the blood and pain from flooding his nerves. Never had he felt such pain! It was all he could do to stop himself from screaming, but scream he did. The scream of death himself became a primal roar, echoing throughout the halls, around the planet, and beyond, all the way to Mars, where his brother Ares heard his cries. The volume of his voice shook the very foundation of Mercury's castle until he managed to silence himself and concentrate. Thanatos' mind searched frantically for his medical magic, but he realized, even if he cast Nares, or had Noah here to cast Medice, his arm would still be off. Nothing could fix such damage. The guards made to haul off Zoicite even before the king had shouted for them to take him away, but with his powers restored, he teleported in a swirl of petals, blood still dripping from his icy sword. It was the last thing Samuru saw before he blacked out.

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Death himself, maimed? Such a thing shouldn't be possible, right? Then again, he DID become mortal for Amilia. What does this mean for things happening later? Stay tuned to find out! 


	31. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 20

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Zoicite's made himself a wanted man! What can be done now? Will Thanatos be able to live with only one arm?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 20:

Zoicite found himself back in his chambers on Earth, and he dropped the ice sword, which shattered from the impact, the melting ice mingling with Lord Sotanaht's blood. What had he done? He was so sure... so sure he'd be able to remove this upstart of a lord from a forbidden world with no trouble! The king of Mercury shouldn't have even given him the chance to defend himself! Now, he'd attacked a lord from Saturn... maimed him, even. There would be war. War between the planet of death itself and his own world.

'...perhaps not. Perhaps a bounty will be put on my head instead. Won't that be lovely...'

Zoicite figured it best to tell the others after his panic diminished. Perhaps something could be salvaged to at least avoid war. Their people were fighting almost constantly until recently, when the generals had decided to court the four inner-world princesses. If even one of them were able to succeed, the alliance could be made. Now it seemed quite unlikely. Kunzite was rejected by Venus' royal family since Venus' age of choosing was much later, Jadeite defeated in a duel for the right to court Mars' princess... Zoicite had gotten the furthest, and as far as he knew, Nephrite was still working out his plan. What could he do now? Opening the door to their meeting room, he found the other three pouring over one of Nephrite's stellar maps, before looking up to the room's newest occupant. He thought he saw a fourth in the room, but he was probably just still panicked, for only the three remained in his sight when he blinked. He was used to seeing their prince with them often enough, yet he wasn't here.

"Zoicite. Glad you could join us." Kunzite stated flatly, before looking back down to the map.

"I take it from the expression on your face that you were equally unsuccessful?" Jadeite said with a rueful smile. Being defeated for your first time was certainly cowing.

"Someone's making fools of us. The stars whisper of others working against us in our search for unity in the Silver Millennium." Nephrite mumbled.

"That's nothing new, Nephrite. The whole damn solar system is against Earth. Even Saturn." Zoicite snapped, having heard him.

Kunzite looked up. "Saturn? What could they have against us? They're hated more than we are!"

"Well, right now it looks like THEY have a better chance of getting in the alliance than we do. A lord from Saturn was accepted to court Mercury's princess... and after all the careful planning, all the work, all the effort, I'm beaten in a month's time by a lord from a forbidden planet! She chose him!"

They all looked down at the table, then Jadeite looked up. "Then why would Saturn hate us? Surely they wouldn't be so petty as to hold it against you for courting Mercury's princess at the same time... "

"No... when I heard her say those words, I-I saw red... and in a fit of rage, I sliced off his arm."

A collective groan was heard. "Well, that clinches it, then." Kunzite said, pinching his eyes to clear them. "Things have officially gotten worse."

The doors burst open to the silhouette of a man wearing onyx and silver armor. Short tousled black hair waved in front of his midnight eyes, and for a moment Zoicite jumped. "Why all the glum faces, men?" came the voice of their prince, Endymion. "Today is a day of celebration!"

"We failed, your majesty. And now we even have another world against us."

"It can't be all that bad! All the princesses turned aside your charms?"

"Most of us didn't even get THAT far, my prince." Jadeite said, outstretching the bandaged arm he'd suffered from Ares in the duel.

"Well, no matter the case, we are now going to be in the alliance!"

The four generals exchanged equal looks of confusion. "What are you getting at, my prince?" Kunzite asked finally.

"I have wooed the princess of the moon and gained their queen's trust! It won't be long before we're united!"

Zoicite chewed upon his lip in thought, then nodded, making up his mind. "Majesty, we must speak alone. As wonderful as this news is, I fear we have war on the horizon, but this time it's not from our world." Zoicite said, turning the future king about and out of the war room. As the door shut, a beautiful creature with wavy auburn streaming locks peeled out from the wall to the three remaining generals.

"Leave it to Zoicite to make things better for us when he thinks things can't be worse."

"What could be better about an early war, Milady Beryl?"

"There is no Lord on Saturn. Our spy's information states that the creature he maimed is Saturn's Guardian! The war will be ours, gentlemen. Not only will Saturn do nothing in retaliation, but the solar system's defenses have just been cut, if you'll forgive the pun. The entire battle that will approach can be blamed upon them!" she cackled. "Soon, Endymion and Zoicite shall be under Queen Metallia's control as well. With them, the forces of Earth, and the reinforcements from beyond, we'll easily lay waste to this system's defenses!"

"Lady Beryl, we still have some problems." Nephrite said, pointing to several marked places on the stellar map. "Even with only one of the three guardians active, since Queen Metallia has already wiped Pluto clear and absorbed all its life energy, we still have to deal with the power of the Lunarii and their silver crystal. By estimation of its maximum power through the queen, or even one of the guardians, it could still wipe out our entire legion, including Queen Metallia. Plus, if Saturn's alliance comes to fruition, even with their guardian wounded, his disciple may still do the same as the crystal. The odds are still three to one in their favor."

"I was hoping one of you four would be able to gain a part of the alliance. Once you had, the darkness could easily spread to whatever world you came to, and the people of that planet could be convinced to join our cause or offer more energy to create more troops... but I had little hope for you, Jadeite. To think that the princess of Mars would choose its guardian as a mate seems odd to me, but perhaps he sees the battle coming despite Metallia's efforts. I'd sought the most from the other three."

"She chose her guardian...? Then why send me at all?" Jadeite seemed a little peeved that he was used in such a way.

"Quite simply, I wanted to see how well you matched against Mars' guardian. You did surprisingly well for not taking any of the promised power at that time."

"Be that as it may, Queen Beryl... couldn't Metallia's influence directly spread to the moon kingdom through the prince's alliance, like you wished to do with our own?"

"No. The silver crystal's power prevents others from being controlled so easily. It doesn't even allow us to get close. All it will end up doing is cause the moon to turn on Earth before the battle is ready, and we will lose a great deal of our troops. We must wait for our instructions. Until then, I can coerce Zoicite to join our cause. Besides, I've been informed that we will be sent a specialist to handle the power of the silver crystal. We must simply wait for its arrival. Nephrite, go to the prince and Zoicite, and begin your plan to court Jupiter's princess. Perhaps we can use Jupiter's forces to 'fend off' Saturn, and possibly kill the guardian's disciple in the process. With him maimed, and still on Mercury, he won't be able to protect them. Victory will be ours!"

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The plans of the dark kingdom come forth! A specialist to handle the power of the silver crystal? What was that about Pluto? Jadeite and Zoicite weren't under the control of the darkness when they were attempting their courtships? And here you probably thought they were breaking into the alliance just to disable it. See you again! 


	32. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 21

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Now we face Thanatos' recovery. How well can one cope with being an amputee, even if they're immortal? Will he force himself to confess to the king who and what he is under such strain, or will he hold his tongue?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 21:

"...aht? Lord Sotanaht? Are you back with us?"

Samuru groaned and raised his hand to his head, which was pounding heavily. The hand that held his temples felt cold...

'...cold?'

He pulled his hand away and forced heavy eyelids open. It was the same arm that shouldn't have been there, since memories flooded back of the icy slice that removed the appendage. He realized that it was NOT his arm. The fingers flexed intricately, but they clicked when they hit his hand. His arm was no longer normal... what happened?

"M-medical area...? M-my hand..."

"Yes, sir." came the electronic male voice of a medical WREN unit, a mechanical citizen, that called his name a few moments ago. "When your arm was removed, we were not sure what we could do, but the princess has had some innovations recently that she wanted to try. She decided on a metal prosthesis controlled by electrical nerve impulses. It seems to be working quite well."

He only looked at the hand he could no longer feel. He flexed and unflexed it, and a soft mechanical sound came from each movement.

"P-Princess Amilia. Is she... ?"

"She is still in a great deal of shock from the whole ordeal. She has been somewhat depressed since you became unconscious, and you have been laying here for a few days now. She is waiting outside, would you like to talk to her?"

He only nodded, but after the sound of heavy footsteps moved away, he mumbled his thanks.

Amilia tore into the room at the mention of his consciousness, and she crushed her cheek against his chest, sobbing at the sight of him awake and playing with his new limb. He stroked her hair and mumbled inaudible words of reassurance to her, not fully awake due to whatever drug was currently in his system. Who knew having a mortal body would be so trying?

"...hate... seeing pretty girls... cry... "

She only continued to sob at his chest, the mix of giggles invading the crying fit becoming painful for her. He wanted to comfort her, to hold her, but whatever was in his system was keeping him from even sitting up. It took most of his efforts to move his hand through her hair. She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, and though her face showed the lack of sleep she'd had from worrying, her eyes still sparkled with intelligence and, what he now realized, love.

"I'm... I'm glad you're okay. So you like it?" she sniffled, trying to compose herself as best she could.

"It works... I can be glad of that."

"I designed it for you. I knew you needed something that would last, so I had it crafted from our strongest material, Laconia. I even put one of our computers in there, but I guess I'll have to teach you how to use it properly. I'm not sure if I tuned your hand correctly, since measuring physical strength through electrical impulses is still a little new to us."

He looked to his side, where a nighttable held a small device. He wasn't quite sure what it was for, so he reached for it. Closing his hand around it to pick it up, he crushed it instead, the tiny machine crackling and sparking in his metal hand. Oops.

"Looks like it needs a little bit of adjustment still... but perhaps this sort of strength can come in handy. I'll just have to be careful."

He set the object back down and turned his head back to her, only to have his lips caught in her own. The familiar soft warmth was enough to calm him a great deal, and he could smell the wonderful ocean-like scent of her short aqua hair. His normal hand raised and fingers trailed over her cheek moments before she drew apart from the kiss, his fingers brushing the area of her face that was still a little damp from her tears. "I thought you'd want to have that with no interruptions this time." she whispered with a shy smile and color in her cheeks. "I need to tell my father that you're awake and all right. He still wanted to talk with you."

Samuru looked beyond her smiling face and smiled himself. "Seems someone already told him. Forgive me, your majesty, for not bowing to greet you... I think I'm still woozy, and unable to even sit up."

The king stood in the doorway, not looking particularly happy. Was he ever happy? He'd swear the man held a permanent scowl if he hadn't seen his features change on their first meeting. "Leave us, my daughter. I must speak with him in private."

Amilia looked back to her father, and saw the same look. She nodded, and wandered past him to the door, stopping to give a worried glance to Samuru on her way out.

When the king was sure the door was closed, he began. "I've spoken with Queen Serenity about your condition, and she let me in on a little information that a few of you have been keeping secret from me."

'Damn... He'd have learned eventually, no doubt.' he thought. "Of course. It was necessary, for all parties involved."

"What are your intentions for my daughter?"

"I love her, my lord. I intend to remain with her and protect her, if she will have me."

The creased wrinkles on his forehead vanished, and the frown on his face gave way to a smile, and soon a hearty chuckle. "I doubted that Queen Laya of Venus would be wrong on such a matter. It was my own fault for not contacting them sooner. I sincerely apologize for attacking you before you had gotten to prove your innocence."

Perhaps the king DIDN'T know? He wasn't sure either Queen Laya or Queen Serenity would tell his secret so readily. But he SHOULD tell King Marcus himself. He'd promised Amilia. "Yes, Venus' queen played a similar trick on me, by telling Queen Serenity before I'd even made my first move." he settled his tone to a more flat one after stating such, steadying himself for what he had to tell the King. "My lord, I should inform you of something else, if you were not already told. I can tell by your mood that you were not. It is important, if you and your daughter are going to accept me as family."

"It doesn't sound pleasant, but I gathered that you were not entirely... shall I use the word 'normal', when you screamed in pain. You also seem to have some rather impressive battle skills for someone who is from a planet of healers."

"I'm afraid it's not pleasant at all. This body you see is a shell... a construct. There is no Lord Samuru Sotanaht of Saturn."

The king's eyes darkened, and the very same face and mood from before returned. "Then you'd better have a very good explanation."

"There is no need to be threatening, your majesty. In my true form, I am ghostly and dark, something people fear. I needed a normal, mortal body in order to interact with others properly, or I'm met with fear and hatred. I am Thanatos, the very being that caused Saturn's prejudice."

The king gaped at the description. "You... You're the one that interrupted the meeting of the planetary leaders so many years ago!"

"Yes. I chose this form because it's mortal, much like Chronos'. I would rather die beside Amilia than live eternally without her. The words I spoke earlier are genuine, I would remain and protect her if you will both have me. I love her, and I have loved her since the day I met her, when her mother passed away."

Mercury's King paced the room, unsure of how to proceed. "You took my wife from me... and now you wish to take my daughter from me as well? Why were you so intent on removing the prejudice of Saturn's people when you are the very one that caused it?"

"I take only the special cases. The queen's life ended prematurely, before she was supposed to die, so I needed to hold her spirit until it was ready. Once she is, she will be due for reincarnation in less than one-thousand years. It's a little odd to be held over for such a long time, but extenuating circumstances DO arise, sometimes. I have no such plans for your daughter, sire... after all, I protected her from your attack against me. As to my reasoning behind helping the people of Saturn, I feel responsible. It was a mistake I could never take back or repair." he sighed at the bitter memory, then looked to the king hopefully. Perhaps he had an ace up his sleeve yet. "She is still with me... would you like to see her?"

King Marcus blinked, not comprehending what he meant. Samuru reached into his cloak with a bit more of his strength returning and pulled forth a pouch which he opened, and removed its contents. The thin gauze floated and flapped from Sam's outstretched hand, sparkled, and unravelled into the ghostly form of the queen.

'Marcus, I'm sorry I had to leave you so suddenly.' her ghostly form spoke, yet her lips didn't move. The king stared at her in wonder, at a loss for words. 'If my health weren't already bad, I might have survived the loss of our eldest daughter Kyra. I have been aware of Thanatos' feelings for young Amilia ever since he decided to ask my permission as well as yours. It was my idea to trick you with a physical form, and I know our dear Amilia wouldn't be happy with a ghostly person for a husband. I've gotten to know him for a much longer time than you have, and his intentions are pure. He is a good man, Marcus... please don't judge him for his past mistakes. You are a man of reason and logic; that is the man I married. Never change that, Marcus. I love you...'

"I love you too..." King Marcus reached out to touch her face, but only managed to pass his fingers through before her ethereal form dissipated back into the thin cloth that struggled back to Samuru's grasp. "...how long will you keep her, Thanatos?"

"I can only hold her until her time is up. From what I can tell, that time will be approximately one month from now." he explained, his hand claiming the queen's spirit once more, which he placed back into the pouch. "I'm afraid she can't be out from her holding for long, for even spirits can become tired."

The king continued to pace, feeling very tired also, possibly from the emotional onslaught he'd been facing. "From the moment you came here, you've wanted to correct me of the ills against your planet, and since then you've wanted to prove to me that you're a man of moral character and intelligence. I can only assume the one speaking, and the one I saw years ago are one and the same? There is no difference between the two?"

"Aside from the physical, none."

"Can you tell me... what caused such a bias?"

Samuru sighed and tried to ease himself upward, with little success. He was still far too weak. "Many years ago, I encouraged a stereotype I did not wish to make. I'd gotten in an argument with Saturn's Lord, because he believed what everyone now believes of me... that I am a thief, a collector of souls, a stealer of life. To get my point across, I pulled at his soul to show it would not come free until it was his time... instead I got a planet full of gawkers watching me be a brute and a thief. My actions had only reinforced the belief that was already present. His daughter absorbed my abilities when trying to make me release him, so I let him go and went on my way. Once word had spread about me, and what my people saw of me, they were shunned, simply because everyone fears death... especially those in power. It's why I said such a hateful remark to you when you spoke down upon me and my people. Queen Serenity's thoughts were fearful and angry the whole time I was present at the meeting of the planetary leaders, despite her false question towards what Saturn offers."

The king sat on the bed beside him, looking down at the weakened god in mortal form. "I'll ask you one last time. You truly love my daughter?"

"With all I have to love with, yes."

"Am I the only one in the dark about your true nature? Does my daughter know?"

"Yes sire, she does. As does Queen Serenity and Queen Laya. I have been princess Amilia's friend for some time, but I knew it would not work for more unless I were mortal." he chose his words carefully. Mentioning Mercury's Queen again would probably be a bad idea.

"And you did that for her. I see... but you're doing this for more than yourself and my daughter though, aren't you?" the king quickly changed the subject. "You're doing this to end the hatred and bias of Saturn."

"I'm only hoping for that. I've stated my real reason already. What you suggest will only come with time, effort, and hope."

"You have shown me a great deal, Samuru." the king said, and he noticed the use of not only his mortal name, but his first name. King Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder. "I would be honored to give you my blessing if my daughter indeed chooses you. In your own way, you gave me the incentive I needed to be rid of Zoicite. A snake of a man, if ever I met one. To think he would try something so underhanded..." he trailed off, then focused on Samuru, as though trying to divert from the subject. "Do you know anything about being leader of a world?"

"Yes, I merely hit the obvious snag back then. After all, my other two brothers are now in control of their respective worlds, and I'm willing to bet my third brother is out there somewhere ruling as well. It must be in our nature or something. But my reason is love, my lord. If I just wanted to rule a planet, I would have taken Saturn. Thank you for your trust and belief in me."

The king nodded and raised from the bed. "In a month's time, there will be a ball at the moon kingdom. Unfortunately, despite Zoicite's actions, Earth will be allowed into the alliance. That ball will be in celebration."

If he could have sat up and shouted, he would have. Instead, he still laid there, feeling very tired. "How did they manage that?"

"It seems Earth's prince has gained the favor of Princess Serenity. I've already spoken with the Queen about what's happened, and Earth's generals will not be permitted to attend, so that conflict between you and Zoicite will be avoided."

"It isn't really necessary to block them all from coming, is it?"

"It's merely in the best interest of security. They may harrass the other princesses since they were turned away from their courtship."

"Hnnhh... That's four times now..." Samuru mumbled, and when the king looked at him quizzically, he explained. "Earth's royalty has to be planning something. Each of the generals sought the inner planets' royalty, save Jupiter, and the prince himself sought the keystone of the alliance. Obviously they are trying to become part of the alliance through the same means as myself with Saturn, but what could they be up to?"

"It may be true. Jupiter also was approached by one of Earth's generals in response to Zoicite's actions. They were under the impression that Saturn would wage war with Earth for what he'd done. The outbreaks of violence on Earth were becoming more and more frequent and intense for months, until they began attempting these courtships. Any Earthlings on other planets are kept under constant watch. Perhaps the royalty of Earth believes that they're fighting because we won't allow them in the alliance, and by joining, they can stop the squabbling."

"Once I'm well, I will consult with Ares. He knows the basis behind the most meaningless petty arguments, to the wars of the past. The only one he hasn't been able to explain was the one instigated by our creators."

"Very well. In the meantime, try to recover your strength. You're going to have to keep up with my daughter." he smiled, taking Samuru's real hand in a firm grip. "Who knows? Another suitor may come along that gains her attention."

Samuru could only smile at those words. He knew that nobody else could gain her affection the way he had. "Thank you, my leige... thank you."

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My, that ended well! The truth shall set you free, even if you're persecuted for it. What does Thanatos have in mind for his brother Ares? What can be done about the warring of Earth, and will they act upon it? And what of Zoicite? Let's find out next time. See you! 


	33. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 22

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Ahh, brotherly discussion. If you don't have siblings, it's not easy to understand. The duo speak of that which bothers them, the danger of the coming war becoming more and more clear. What can be done?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 22:

A few days had passed, and Samuru tolerated the pampering from his princess, though he knew she shouldn't have been doing it, because she no doubt had plenty of work to do. The pain was gone, and the medicines were unnecessary, so when he was finally alone, he pulled into the black space of his cloak and shunted out to Mars to find his brother. He didn't have to search for very long.

"Hey, y'little punk. What're you doin' on my planet?"

Samuru whirled about to see his brother, leaning on his mighty red sword. It was a wonder it didn't sink through the stone he rested it upon. Samuru crossed his arms and spoke their native tongue. "Ares, have you been mindful of the events occurring in the system regarding battles and wars?"

Ares blinked stupidly at him, putting two and two together in terms of how this mortal could know his brothers' personal language. Samuru could almost see the cogs turning inside his brother's skull. "Thanatos? That you? HAH! So you went and made yourself mortal too, huh? Of course I've been doing my job, you damned spectre." he said jokingly. It was then that Samuru realized his brother must be somewhat intoxicated, because he was smiling stupidly.

"Earth is sneaking their way into the alliance. What can you tell me about that?"

Ares' mood quickly sobered. "I wasn't aware of such a thing."

"It's been happening for months, but the biggest attempt happened a few days ago."

"Unnerving to learn this from a source other than my own power. Let's hear it."

"The generals of Earth's four quarters have been attempting to court the princesses of the inner planets. I believe they were doing so to gain a foothold in joining the alliance."

"Much like you were?"

"Wha... how did you know that?"

"I know a squabble fueled by hatred, Thanatos. I knew about the beginning problems between you and King Marcus of Mercury. You and Zoicite put on quite a show of anger in the forest, too."

"Very well... anyhow, you should know this already. You fought Jadeite for the right."

"Yes, but I didn't think much of it after I sent him on his way. They've probably been moving for the inner worlds because Saturn separates the outer worlds. Saturn's princess is too young, the princesses of Uranus and Neptune aren't interested in men, and Pluto's princess is being courted by Chronos. It makes sense I suppose. So one of the generals succeeded?"

"No, it was their Prince himself. Snagged the attentions of the Lunarian Princess."

"Brilliant move." Ares said, stroking his chin in admiration, and pacing in thought. "Binding himself right to the core of the alliance... perhaps you should have thought of that."

"Shut up, Ares. You know the unification isn't my main focus."

"C'mon, Thanatos. Serenity's gorgeous, even I'll admit that."

"Ares..." Samuru said in a warning tone. He'd have to remember to keep his brother away from alcohol. Why had their father invented such an odd drink? He was fortunate Reianna wasn't around to hear him.

"You know I only prod you for a reaction. Now let's see..." Ares closed his eyes and focused his mind on the blue orb not too far away from their own orbit. Despite the obvious intoxication, he didn't seem to have a problem focusing his immortal abilities. "Hm... if any of the leaders have negative thoughts, they're not related to war. The prince himself is giving off a particularly strong positive aura... I'd almost mistake him for a creature of light if I didn't know he was human."

"They wanted this pretty badly. General Zoicite had caught me off-guard when Amilia told the king that she chose me."

"Congratulations, you lousy peasant!" Ares clapped him on the shoulder, and went to shake his hand, only to give a puzzled look as he squeezed. "Eh? Thanatos, when did you start wearing a gauntlet?"

"It's what I meant about catching me off-guard." He pulled up his black sleeve, and showed Ares the laconian mechanical prosthetic. "While I was distracted by what she said, he cut off my arm."

"THAT'S what that scream was about?"

"You heard that all the way here?"

"You have a nice set of pipes, Thanatos. I thought maybe you finally got lucky. So they had to replace your arm?"

"You're so vulgar, Ares... but yes. Observe."- he said, still gripping Ares hand, and gave it a little squeeze. Ares cringed, trying to squeeze back, with little success.

"Ow... damn it... ngh... sunova... ow... owowowowowowowwww! Let go!"

Samuru let go and grinned, flexing the mechanical prosthetic. "Impressive, isn't it? I was only squeezing a little, too. Crushed some bedside device on my first try, just trying to pick it up. This laconia material is strong stuff."

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger." Ares said, flexing his hand to see if anything was broken.

"Hey, I like that saying."

"So do I. Hit me."

"Huh?"

"Hit me. That hand won't kill me, so it MUST make me stronger."

Samuru laughed. -"Go easy on the wine from now on. You're being very silly. Keep your eye out for any war thoughts, and keep me informed, all right?"

"Sure." Ares mumbled, watching his brother pull forth his cloak and step inside, the cloth then zooming off. This bothered Ares... why weren't the humans setting off his knowledge of war? This was the second instance of not being able to sense an incoming war. Could they possibly be up to something without his knowledge?

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Ares, not knowing about war? This could be a problem! When the very man who knows all about war doesn't know when it's occurring, that can only mean one thing. What is it? If you weren't reading the early chapters, you might not know. Later people, and kindly review! 


	34. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 23

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: So now Ares must observe Earth directly in order to confirm what he's been told. What could such an omen of not being able to forsee the battles mean?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 23:

The time passed, as it always did, and once more, Earth threatened another uprising. It was then that Ares knew something was truly wrong, because he could not feel it, even as he sat there, watching its battle. They were getting into the alliance now, wasn't that enough for them? It irritated him quite a bit. It was time he acted like he was a member of the alliance.

'-Queen Serenity, can you hear me?-' Ares sent his thoughts out to the queen of Earth's moon. Perhaps she had some insight.

'I hear you. Who calls to me using their mind? Such use of your abilities had better be well-worth it.'

'-It is Ares, master of war on Mars. You needn't try to govern me on my own mental capacities, your majesty.-' he smirked to himself, looking at the blue planet's single moon.

'Ahh, Ares. Good evening to you. Am I correct in assuming this is an emergency? Hardly have I heard directly from you.'

'-Indeed, milady. We need to set up a meeting with the royalty of all the worlds, except for Earth, as soon as possible. We may have a dire problem.-'

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"War may be brewing under our noses."

Soft murmurs came from the present party of royalty at the words from Ares.

"What bothers me most of this meeting is not the dire nature of this war, but the lack of attendance." he said, looking at the empty chair of the kingdom of Pluto. Neither princess Setsuna nor Chronos had come. Lord Sotanaht had taken it upon himself to be seated in Saturn's almost-always empty chair. "Neither Thanatos nor I have heard from our brother Chronos, nor the royal family of Pluto, for several weeks. We believed this would rouse their attention... But I digress... for the past decade, the people of Earth have been warring amongst themselves and others, fighting for what they wish. My ability as master of war allows me to see what each reason for any battle is, and how best to resolve it. However, within the last three years, most of the battles on Earth have not spoken to me. Indeed, I became unaware they were even occurring. I had thought little of it until now."

"I suppose that is a bit troubling, Ares... but what does it have to do with your belief of a coming war? Such a thing sounds more like paranoia. The calm before a storm doesn't always apply." Queen Sari of Jupiter pointed out. There was no finer hand-to-hand warrior than herself, even on Mars, save for Ares himself.

"Perhaps it does sound that way... but within the last few months, I've also learned that the royal generals of Earth have been attempting to worm their way into the alliance through courtship of your princesses." Lord Sotanaht stood, facing the rest of the royalty.

"Indeed." Queen Laya spoke. "I had rejected General Kunzite outright because he most certainly wasn't my daughter's match, atop the fact that her time of choosing is still a year away. I knew the same was true of Nephrite with Jupiter's princess, so I informed Queen Sari as well, though I believe he was stopped by Jupiter's 'normal' choosing method anyway." Queen Laya was generally the royal matchmaker of the solar system, having divine foresight when reading possible matches. She usually had the final say in the matter, but Jupiter and Mars were the exception, in that their royalty had the last say no matter what. Needless to say, Nephrite was sumarily trounced. The two generals were complete opposites in personality of the ones they wished to court.

"Each of these four have failed in turn, and the outer four worlds were not chosen because of not only their royalty's availability, but also because of their lack of connection to the overall alliance. One of the generals even managed to remove my hand when he learned I was chosen instead of himself." he said, his metallic fist clenching beneath the glove he now wore, the grinding crunch of leather erupting from the action.

"The most recent was the courtship of Earth's prince himself to my daughter, princess Serenity. However, I can sense that he radiates a very positive energy. His love is genuine, is it not, Laya?" Queen Serenity asked.

"Indeed it is, your majesty. But I still fail to see why you think war is coming." Queen Laya of Venus interjected. Even after almost two decades on her world, her age still refused to show due to the effects of the cryogenic chamber that was aboard the Alisa III star-vessel. Perhaps it never would.

"Regardless of the prince's intentions, the alliance would allow anyone influenced on Earth by the darkness to be allowed into it as well. You see, the only time I am not fully aware of a battle or a war, is when it is generated by our creators. With Chronos' absence, it's possible that creatures of darkness have crept into the solar system and corrupted the people of Earth. I also know that a war will come one day, because a tremendous source of darkness waits outside our system. Our fourth brother was present when the darkness surged forth into our universe."

Princess Serenity breathed relief to know her future husband was under his own control. She didn't know if she could take it if his love wasn't real. "So it's just sitting outside our solar system?" Her mother asked, puzzled.

"I'm not entirely sure what it is up to. Maybe waiting for a sign from its contacts, or for a sign of weakness, even. Perhaps reinforcements. Regardless, if this dark force has armies backing it up, it may very well be great enough to defeat the armies of this system. We must prepare."

"The people of Jupiter are with you, Lord Ares. What do you have in mind?" Queen Sari stood, her right fist crushed against her metal breastplate in a pledge of loyalty.

"Firstly, we must close the borders of the planets to all people until future notice."

"Such a thing just isn't done, Ares. We do not simply 'close our borders'." King Marcus explained.

"Then instigate a quarantine or some other such nonsense between the worlds. Earthlings on any other world should be monitored more closely than usual. I believe we should start this after the prince of Earth next visits the moon. At least that way, it won't appear that we're trying to delay the alliance, and provoke a pre-emptive strike. Plus, I believe it's in your best interest to protect your future husband." he indicated towards the moon princess.

Both the Queen and Princess of the Moon nodded in agreement. "What else can be done?"

"If you're truly with us, then the troops of Mars and Jupiter will investigate and station themselves upon Pluto, to see if there's anything to worry about. Aljus?" he looked to Mercury's brightest technician, whom Ares asked specifically to come.

"Yes, sir?"

"We're going to require those communication devices we discussed. Several hundred... perhaps even a couple thousand. Not only should my troops keep in contact with each other, but also with us, when and if a problem occurs. Also, I will need project Destiny to be sped up."

"I will have our scientists working on them right away. The War-Wren Unit's programming is almost complete."

"Good. Princesses of Uranus and Neptune, your worlds will be the outermost defense, should our troops fail. Have your people aid them if you believe you can help, or hold the front until reinforcements arrive. May the swiftness of wind and the calm strength of water aid you and your people in your time of need." Both princesses nodded, then looked to each other, engaging in their own mental conversation.

"Queen Laya, Venus' armies will be held where they are to defend the moon kingdom, and we'll need proper weapons to do battle with the darkness. Have Venus' finest metalsmiths craft weapons for this battle. Mercury's technology and people will back up the moon kingdom's defenses."

"What of Saturn?" Reianna asked, being the only member of Mars' line, save for Ares. While they weren't officially engaged, it was quite well-known that the two were an item, and were courting. Perhaps their day would come soon.

"That depends..." Lord Sotanaht decided to answer. "If the battle comes before the alliance to Saturn comes to fruition, then I will have to train the young princess in the use of my abilities. If nothing else, we can use her sacrifice as a last resort between the worlds. If however, it comes to pass, then the people of Saturn can provide proper medical care. I will see if they can aid us regardless... perhaps this unification will be what is necessary to end the hatred."

"So what's the holdup between you and Princess Amilia, then?" Ares asked with a chuckle. Amilia turned beet red at the mention of it. It was very improper at a meeting of this nature, but it certainly held the attention of the other princesses. Ares got a punch on the shoulder from Reianna for his trouble.

"I could ask the same of you and Princess Reianna, Ares. You two already act like you're bonded, and you've been courting her longer than I have Amilia. But that isn't the point, and it's none of your business." he retorted. The other girls giggled, and both Reianna and Ares shot glares at Lord Sotanaht that promised pain.

It only made the giggles intensify.

"I don't think we'll have a problem until after the ball to unite Earth in the alliance. Once it has been established, then will be their time to strike." Lord Sotanaht explained, and looked to Ares for confirmation. His own insight into war was limited and weak, but he had basic ideas of how they worked, since each brother had some glimmer of power of the others. Ares nodded in affirmation. "But that doesn't mean we should be off-guard beforehand."

"And if they make it to the Moon?" the queen asked. She wasn't entirely sure of the threat they faced in their enemy, and she wanted to be prepared.

"If they make it to the moon, anyone left will make a stand there. If their force is still too great, and all will be lost, then use this to wipe out the darkness." Lord Sotanaht revealed a small crescent-shaped wand, and handed it to the queen of the moon. "I had it made on Mercury after some... proper persuasion. It's designed to focus and amplify your energies through our father's crystal, the one you own. Place your crystal in the wand when the time comes. You will know what to do." he said, the wand leaving his hands to be accepted into her own. "But be warned, you may not survive the use of the crystal, as it will quite probably drain far too much of your energy. I must leave now. It's time I began the training of Saturn's princess. I only pray she doesn't end it all prematurely." He said, glancing to Amilia as he pulled himself into his cloak and disappeared.

"Let's just hope you don't have to use that, your highness." Ares said with a reassuring tone after Thanatos left. "I will prepare Mars' troops, and begin transport along with the warriors of Jupiter. Aljus, I expect those communicators to be done, and soon. This meeting is adjourned." he bowed, and Reianna took his arm, as they both burst into flame and disappeared just as quickly. The others had to move on their way, because there was plenty of work to be done.

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Lots happening here. Plans for battle coming forth, defenses being set, and the focus of battle upon their minds. Since pluto's presence was absent at the meeting, could the words from the dark kingdom ring true? Is planet pluto's life actually 'gone'? Will Thanatos be able to convince Saturn's princess without setting off her power prematurely? What is project: Destiny? 


	35. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 24

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: No notes this time. I'm feeling lazy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 24:

For the first time in nearly a decade, Thanatos laid eyes on the surface of Saturn. The dark clouds blocked out the sun completely; it was a wonder there was any light at all. It was even a larger wonder that plant life grew with so little sun, but the fields sown by the commoners of Saturn were abundant indeed. He floated before the castle and through the walls, until he came to the 'classroom' for the young princess. It was more like a study. No doubt she'd be learning how to rule like any princess. He reverted to his mortal guise and opened the door, thinking that at least he could speak to her without her becoming fully aware of it being him.

"Who goes there?" he heard as soon as the door creaked slightly open. He opened it the remainder, to find her alone. A decade had done wonders to her appearance, and he'd hardly recognized her. Dark black hair, cropped at her shoulders, framed a pale face with eyes like black holes, a purple void that almost seemed soulless, were it not for the light from lamps reflecting in her eyes. "Oh, good morning. What can I do for you?" she said cheerily, the dark mood of being disturbed disappearing.

'Morning... ? How can she tell?' he thought, then blinked. "Er, yes... Princess?"

"I could hardly be considered that. Everyone lives independently since my father died. The people move as effectively as if there were still a king." she blinked, staring up at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

This girl had completely undone his mind. She'd grown so beautiful, much like Amilia. Had he stayed before, would he have had a chance with her? Granted, it would have been a much longer time to wait for her...

His mind ground to a halt. Amilia. He loved Amilia. He lost his arm for her. He became mortal for her. He'd be damned if he was going to lose that to a pretty pale thing that was even younger, that hated his true form with all her being, and would die upon release of the power she stole from him a decade ago.

"Yes, you do. We met a long, long time ago." he closed the door and slid the latch closed to lock it silently. "I'd hoped you would understand after years away from me that I wasn't responsible for your father's death, but such things don't disappear so easily. I have come to you now out of desperation." Smoke swirled forth from the purple sphere atop his cane, and the swirling storm within spread outward about him, revealing the spectre of Thanatos in his place. Her eyes widened in fear and she drew a long curved blade from a nearby bookshelf, holding it in front of her to protect herself, backing away.

"You STAY away from me!"

"Please calm yourself. I have come to make peace. You've been blissfully unaware of what's been happening on the other worlds, and I've been doing what I could as this world's temporary ruler."

"Some ruler! You murder my father and let the planet fall into chaos when you run off, with a four year old as the only royalty left!" she made to swing the blade.

He knew he had to be careful here. If her emotions got out of control, her power could awaken, and she'd waste the entire planet. Her swing came about and caught in his cloak, and he deflated to only the cloth resting on the blade. She stood dumbfounded, staring at the cloak hanging from her blade, and it quickly wrapped around her, forcing the weapon from her hands as she was pulled into the dark space.

The dark space was a kind of pocket dimension, though infinitely large. It housed Thanatos' physical form when he was transformed, and anything he might need. The dimension bent to his will however, and was easily capable of restraining her. If her power DID go supernova, it would at least be in the confined void of his cloak, and he could spare the planet. "Please control yourself! Your father's death was not my doing! I was acting in the only way I could think as a ruler, obtaining alliance with the rest of the solar system to help out your world!" She struggled and cried under his grip, not budging one bit, his cloak muffling her cries. He plead with her in a calmer tone. "I mean you no harm, princess... please understand... I would not come here to see you unless it was absolutely necessary."

Her struggles died down and she slumped in the grip of the darkness, silent tears rolling down her cheeks in defeat. He set her back down and released her from the black space, floating away from her a bit.

"I've come here today because the alliance this world is going to be part of is in dire straits. War may soon erupt throughout the entire solar system due to an outside influence, and I did not want this world to suffer without knowing, or being able to fight back."

"Then what do you want us to do? We-we can't even leave our world." she was still sobbing silently, tears streaking her pale features.

"That will be arranged. This world of healers can heal the wounds of the past and encourage trust, and also heal the wounded in battle. You yourself have a one-time use of my own power, to be able to obliterate anything... unfortunately, the power release would kill you. We would only ask that you do so as a last resort."

"So... I could even destroy you?" she asked between the dying sobs, getting a wicked gleam in her eye. Vengeance was still a biting and clawing creature within her.

"Yes, but I don't suggest doing so. Not only would that put a great deal of souls into limbo for the next thousand years until my own physical regeneration, but it would negate positive reincarnation until then as well... and the blast would also destroy all life on the planet you stand upon. Would you kill yourself and murder your whole world just for revenge against me?"

She actually thought about it for a moment. 'Do I really hate him so badly? Am I really so convinced that he had killed my father? I... I don't think I'd be willing to. No... I can't be so cold to sacrifice everyone for vengeance.' she shook her head after making up her mind.

"I know you probably will never forgive me, but wouldn't you like to be able to do that one great thing that all rulers can do for their people?"

She closed her eyes, and her tears stopped. Wiping them away, she held a determined gaze into the white mask upon Thanatos' hood. "Show me what I have to do."

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Kind of a shorty. Saturn's princess now has knowledge of her power, so now she must obtain discipline. With all this power under their control, what hope could the darkness have upon the time of their invasion? 


	36. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 25

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: This was more of a summary of events as I realized the prequel was dragging along quite a bit... to the point where it had achieved just how long I'd intended to make the story in the first place. Oh well!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 25:

The month passed quickly for everyone upon each world. The prince of Earth was unsure what to do when he couldn't get back, and was often chased by Lunarians until he got to the palace, where the truth was explained to him. He'd been suspicious of his people, and even of his generals of late. He hardly complained, getting to spend time with his princess... even if he had to often remain hidden from the guards.

Venus' metalsmiths forged powerful and sharp blades for the warriors of their system, based upon the black sword of Orakio, the one-time nemesis and then love of Queen Laya's sister. That very sword was in Jadeite's possession, but given to Prince Endymion as a wedding gift, as the weapon to protect the moon kingdom. It was the weapon that was once used to seal a massive evil being Laya had twice seen herself, called a 'Dark Force'. She helped to defeat it when it was released from its sealed fate, and swore no dark creature would claim her people again.

Pluto was now a frozen wasteland, the people long gone and the castle crumbled. The troops of Mars and Jupiter scoured high and low, sifting through its white-sand surface, with little success. The planet was dead. No living beings. No plant life. Not even water. The air was barely breathable, even, and the temperature was so low that the soldiers often had to stay close just to maintain body heat. They remained per Ares' request, investigating as to what could have wiped an entire planet of life shy of Saturn's princess.

After Thanatos had completed the training of Saturn's princess, he had multiple transportation pads installed on Saturn by the good grace and acceptance of King Marcus of Mercury, and the allowance of Queen Serenity. The people came in droves, ready to interact with their neighbors. Indeed, the people of the silver millennium eventually learned that the inhabitants of Saturn were good people, and the fear of their people diminished. Trade routes began, and the rule negating the arrival of people from Saturn upon other worlds was removed when word spread of Samuru and Amilia's engagement.

Ares kept a close watch on Earth the whole time, watching for the battles he knew were occurring without his knowledge. But for once, none came, even with the borders of the moon closed. Perhaps they knew he was watching?

The lack of people on Pluto surprised Ares, but it was not totally unexpected if the darkness was sneaking inside. With the disappearance of Chronos and the planet's royalty, Princess Setsuna, the planet was virtually unguarded in terms of clairvoyant ability, as well as losing two of its most powerful people. But with the troops at alert in the furthermost regions of the solar system, there was no way they'd be unprepared.

Finally the night of the ball came without much incident. The people consisted mostly of Lunarians due to the sensitive nature of the ball, as well as the 'quarantine', but the royalty of the inner five worlds had come together. The masks everyone wore disguised themselves from each other, a decoration Thanatos believed they could do without. Their enemy could be amongst them, and he'd never even see their face. Both he and Ares had come to keep an eye on the party, believing such a gathering would be a dangerous place, as the enemy could strike from within. Still, Ares had kept his communicator. If anything was going to happen beyond, he'd be there for it. In the gathering, it was as simple as the meeting of many: crowded, talkative, and boring. Ares' mask did little to disguise him, as he was easily the tallest and largest one present, being particularly large due to the armor hidden beneath his outfit, and the darkened bronze skin he bore. But Thanatos wore his easily, having taken on his mortal guise. The white plastic mask borrowed from his immortal form covering his face in all but the eye and mouth area.

The music began. He'd heard the power of music before on Mercury. Such strength in auditory sound could only be magic... something that the princesses of Neptune and Uranus possessed in great amounts. People began pairing off and dancing, and before long he found himself dancing with who could only be Amilia, one of the shortest adults present. As they circled about, he spotted Ares being practically dragged onto the dancing floor by Mars' princess.

"What's wrong with Ares?" Amilia asked, obviously having seen the same thing.

"Hey, battle is one thing. Ares has had little time to indulge in learning to dance."

They could be heard from the tiny bit away, Reianna sounding a little ticked at the veritible giant as he stubbornly refused to budge, but was eventually coaxed onto the floor. "Come on, what is your problem?"

Amilia giggled briefly and rested her head against Samuru's shoulder as the music became softer and more romantic, the focus of the floor being that of the Moon princess and Earth's prince. But for the time being, Samuru was the one that had Amilia's focus. "I'm glad we had time to practice when I was younger. Dancing was fun when we were alone."

"Of course. Dancing is easy when your partner doesn't have feet to step on." he joked. Obviously she didn't mind the comment, because she didn't even open her eyes.

"Sam... Thanatos... what will happen when I die?"

He didn't particularly like the question, but she never asked anything of him that he wasn't willing to tell her. "Well, depending on your positive or negative energy concentration in life, your soul will be sent to this solar system's cauldron, and either be sent for reincarnation or impris..."

"No, no... I mean... what will happen to us?"

'Us...?' he thought, and she snuggled into his shoulder. He looked at the ring on her slender finger, a beautiful blue sapphire with the symbol of her planet hidden within its reflective surface, proof of his love for her. He too wore a ring, something much more plain. Gemless, but still infused with her planet's symbol. If only there were time enough to express how he felt. "My kind can't really die permanently. Our memories always remain. Since you are such a positive woman, I'm sure you would be sent for reincarnation. I would try to find you again."

She clutched at his outfit. "I love you, Samuru... Thanatos... I'm scared that I won't make it if there is a war. Don't forget me... please?"

"I promise never to forget you..." He smiled with a whisper and pressed his lips to her own sweetly, a kiss that hardly lingered before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Ares.

"Thanatos." Ares' voice was focused and determined, but quiet and calm enough to not arouse panic. Something was wrong. "We have an emergency. Reports have come in from Pluto about a large force of darkness, different from what I perceived. I've alerted the troops of Neptune, Uranus, and Venus already, but Saturn and Mercury aren't responding to the calls. I don't know how long our troops on the main line can hold it. Not only were we wrong about how soon, but the force is much larger than we thought."

"Nothing we can't handle together." he replied, then turned back, pulling Amilia into an embrace. "I love you, and I will never forget, but you don't have to worry. I'll be back, I promise."

He feared that she wasn't going to let go, because she was clutching so tightly. "Please... be careful..."

After she let go, he turned to Ares and clapped his metal hand on his brother's shoulder. "Go ahead. I will alert the royal family and the forces of the Moon, pick up Saturn's princess to assist the battle, and join you as soon as I can."

Ares nodded and disappeared in a flash of flame, which scared a few of the people momentarily. Samuru moved quickly through the slow-dancing crowd, over to where the queen of the moon sat, watching the celebration, and lifted his mask so he could be identified.

"Your majesty, we have a situation. The darkness is making its move now! Prepare your people, just in case... prepare for war." he pressed in a firm yet soft tone, mimicking Ares in not inducing panic amongst the people by yelling.

She and the two guardian cats nodded. The cats dashed off, shouting the alarm, while the queen directed the people to safety areas. Samuru took on his ghostly form and pulled himself into the black space of his cloak, the material phasing through space at incredible speeds to drop down on Saturn. Uncurling from the black space and speeding through the castle, he came upon the princess' room and phased through the door.

"Princess, the time has come."

"I know." she mumbled, her back to him. She turned to reveal an odd outfit, standing with the glaive he had trained her in the use of. It was a white form-fitting outfit with a purple miniskirt and kerchief, the shoulder guards curled upward to a point, and a spiked crystal resting upon her chest between a deep purple bow. He'd never seen such an outfit before. "I have felt it since my transformation into Sailor Saturn began. This solar system... will die."

Thanatos felt as though his heart dropped into his stomach. She couldn't be right. "Come on, we must end this as quickly as possible. With the troops of Mars and Jupiter battling the darkness on the front lines, Uranus and Neptune covering the second wave, and Venus and Mercury backing up the Moon Kingdom, with your own world providing recovery, there's no way we can lose!"

"I will go with you, but it does not matter anymore. The army is moving faster than you think. Neptune and Uranus are already gone. The darkness is enveloping this world as we speak. I'm sorry, Thanatos. I am." Her face and emotions were dulled. She didn't have hate, anger, or sorrow in her features or voice. It didn't even appear that she had awareness. "Darkness will swallow this system, and only one world will survive."

He growled at the girls attitude and grabbed her gloved wrist, pulling them both into the dark space of his cloak as his spectral form sped out and floated to the battlefield.

And he only emerged in time to watch Ares in the grip of the massive blackness that blotted out the stars themselves.

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Holy crap! Does that mean Ares, the very spirit of war itself, may be killed? Can an immortal die? What is that thing? All this and more next time, on 'The Path of Finding Destiny'! 


	37. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 26

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Finally, the battle of the Silver Millennium! Things are looking bad. Can the avatar of Death and Death itself avert the war? I think we know the answer to that already.

Now then, whoever you are, Mr. or Ms. (or even Mrs.) anonymous reader, I appreciate that I have a constant reader that comes back every time I post a new chapter, but really, could a review hurt? Your presence every time I read brings warm fuzzies, but at the same time it irritates that I don't 'know' my readers personally. You probably won't even read this, like everyone else doesn't, so I'll get to the disclaimer already. :P

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 26:

The two living creatures of destruction from Saturn watched from afar as the god of war himself struggled in the grip of darkness, a malicious enormous two-dimensional shadow being.

"Foul spawn of the profound! You have no idea what you're getting yourself into!" Ares roared at the creature, managing to free his arms from its grip as well as his communicator. "Attention, legion of Mars and Jupiter, clear a seventy-five million cubit radius from the monster! My spirit will be with you after this, so fear not, and continue to fight the good fight in the name of peace, and for the glory of the Silver Millennium!" his voice came through the communicator, most didn't understand what he meant by that, but all obeyed. Unable to crush him, the beast decided to swallow him whole. "You're not devouring me as easily as the last three planets! Do you hear me! I am the perfect soldier! I am carnage given form! I am the destroyer of cities, countries, and worlds!"

"IAMWAR!"

As it ignored his shouts, it also ignored the red aura that was growing in its hand, Thanatos observing Ares' hand movements with horror. "ARES, NO!"

'Do not fear, big brother... this being must be stopped, because even father's crystal cannot complete such a task. I'm taking this thing with me to the cauldron of darkness.' Thanatos heard Ares' calm and collected voicethoughts. 'Tell Reianna I am sorry... I don't think I'll be rejoining her for the dance.' his hands' movement suddenly stopped as it was about to close its mouth over him.

"SUPERNOVA-STOOOOOORRRRRRRMM!"

With a cry of triumph, a fiery blast erupted from Ares like an explosion and swirled around the creature, its light output growing to rival that of the sun, becoming too much for the defending armies to even look at, and Thanatos shielded the Saturnian princess from the blinding light behind his cloak as the massive flame attack enveloped their foe and swirled about. When their vision cleared and the fiery spell dissipated, there was no sign of their leader, and unfortunately, the dark entity was unscathed.

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What do you do when the man who controls all war dies in the middle of one?

If his body were still intact, Thanatos knew he could help his brother Ares recover. But something of this nature was just impossible to fix. He was gone. Totally and completely gone. His physical body was ash.

Never had he thought it possible for a child of destiny to die. Certainly, he knew all things COULD die, but he hardly believed Ares would ever meet his destroyer. The man was a juggernaut.

Apparently, so was his opponent.

The warriors of Jupiter and Mars had rejoined the fray, raging and hacking at the monster all around its shadow-like body. Was this the darkness Noah spoke of? It did not appear to be like the creature Falz at all. Its massive hands swiped at the marching warriors, knocking hordes of heavily trained and battle-ready men and women aside with each strike, spiralling out of control into outer space, swatting at them as though they were the merest of insects. What was worse, the fighter's weapons didn't appear do be doing any noticeable damage. After all, how do you fight a shadow?

With light.

Thanatos had only transported himself to the battlefield, not really knowing where he was until he saw the world below. They were nowhere near Pluto: they were floating near Venus, which was in close orbit to Earth's moon at that time. Thousands of powerful beams of light energy streaked up from the surface, piercing and striking the monstrous shadow at numerous points. The Venusians were launching their offensive strike from upon the planet, every person that was able was firing at the creature from the surface. An inhuman screech bellowed from the creature as it launched energy back at Venus, the surface going yellow from an explosion of lava from within the planet.

"You there, Solider!" Thanatos shouted to a general of Mars who had fallen back to direct his troops.

He turned about. "Thanatos! Lord Ares is dead! What can we do now!"

"You can do what you've been trained to do all your life, soldier! Lead these troops! Now, what has happened here! You were supposed to hold the enemy at Pluto!"

"This thing is unstoppable! Nothing we do seems to hurt it! What's worse, its pushed us back to this point, and we can't get around it to attack the troops behind! They're using this thing as a shield! It completely enveloped Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn! All three worlds are just gone, nothing but wild atmosphere now!"

"...no..." Thanatos growled, not understanding why he couldn't feel the spirits of soldiers that were destroyed in the war. He looked over to the princess, who stared blankly at this 'invincible shadow', and knew what she was thinking... she knew what she had to do already, he could tell from the look in her eyes... a look of determination. If that thing were able to withstand Ares' sacrificial attack, it would be able to defeat him as well. If he let out most of his energy to destroy it, he would be tapped out and unable to fight... the rest of the galaxy's forces would have to do battle with the remaining army behind. But if Saturn's Princess did it, he could stop most of the army himself, and the remaining troops could handle whatever got by him. "Princess, I won't ask you to stop this thing, but the energies within you and your glaive can shred this monstrosity. I know we haven't been close this past decade, but you were given these powers for a reason, whether we were meant to know that reason or not. If there's a fate we can make, it can be done through you. I believe in you to do the right thing." he placed his hand on her shoulder, looking down to her with the eyes of a man who was sending his own child to her death. "Just know that even though we were not together long... I am proud of you, and I am sorry for hurting your father."

Looking up to him for a moment of brief wonder, it appeared there was emotion flickering in her cold gaze. But as if to refute it, she said nothing and simply floated away from him, and before the massive shadow. Instantly, it stopped attacking the other troops and slightly backed away from the short pale girl. Even an unstoppable entity like this could recognize its doom when it saw it.

"Get your troops out of there! Get everyone you can to make a stand at the moon kingdom! NOW!" Thanatos shouted to the general and through his communicator, and many of the troops retreated even before the command was given. He turned back to see the princess brandishing her glaive.

"I may die upon this day to stop you, but stop you I will." she said, only loud enough for both to hear. "No monster, no matter how powerful, can escape the power of death itself. I will try to make this solar system safe, at the cost of my life." She rotated in place, the glaive moving hand over hand in a spin at different angles, a symbol tracing in the vaccum in front of her. "Prepare yourself for oblivion! Death Reborn Revolution!"

Thanatos slid far enough away from the attack to avoid the onslaught, and he watched as the glaive's edge dropped to her feet to complete the symbol, its explosive power tore through both creature and princess, its pieces spreading and scattering from the devastating attack. Closing his eyes, he muttered one last apology to her now-drifting soul for asking such a sacrifice. He remembered the move that Ares once taught him, which he in turn had taught her: the Chaos Strike. A single move which could segment any opponent into seven sections. He hadn't anticipated she would amplify her power through such a move, but it seemed to do well to destroy the gigantic shadow, and to reveal the baffled army behind. They were untouched by the blast.

And he froze when he locked eyes with Zoicite.

In both panic and rage, Thanatos slapped his prosthetic arm's communicator to the moon's signal. "Attention, warriors of the moon! Your enemy is the royal army of Earth, powered by the forces of darkness! The monstrous shadow at the head of the army is defeated, but we face a massive army of darkness, as well as a tremendous dark force! I will hold them as long as I can! Prepare to defend yourselves!" He drew forth from the confines of the black space of his cloak the weapon he never dared use in all the time he'd been in the system, save for training the princess of Saturn. The deathscythe was a powerful weapon that was only to be used in dire emergencies. This was that very time. He could see the bloated, cloudlike version of Falz floating above the armies. Indeed, it had evolved into something more horrible than Noah described. Setting a silence wall behind him to block the moon from stray blasts, he took off towards the army, zipping between the magical attacks flying at him and deflecting from his defensive magic. 'Ares... Chronos... the alliance... all the people of this system... especially you, Amilia... I won't let them through without a fight. Tonight my friends, win or lose, death fights for your lives!' his mind swore, flying into the fray of monsters with a soul-rending roar, the arc of the blade coming about and carving a path through the power of darkness.

The generals stayed wisely away, while they ordered droves of monsters to take down the physical manifestation of death. They fell easily before his scythe, a sharpened and gleaming destructive force that sent the lot of them to judgement, slicing through every one of the horrendous beings, their bodies posing no defense nor hinderance to its swing. His free hand clenched whenever possible, casting his strongest gravity spells to crush the armies and snap their bones. If only he'd learned fire spells from his brother Ares, he could cast a weaker firestorm that would devour the oxygen from the atmospheric travel spell the army had cast, and they would all suffocate. In that event, he could handle the Dark Force that seemed as large as the army itself. Slashes and energy tore at his cloak, but he didn't care. 'They won't stop me... I'm going to save this solar system even if I have to do it alone!' Looking above, he realized he had gotten close enough to strike at the source. The being above. He remembered the horrible monster Queen Laya of Venus once spoke of, a monster that had destroyed the rest of their ships, and only theirs had remained when they stopped it. She called that being 'Dark Force'. It seemed very similar to the advanced-looking Falz above him.

Thanatos spotted a humanoid woman with long auburn hair and a purple dress, who would be considered gorgeous were she not also powered by this darkness and twisted by its power. He saw that she was directing the monsters to him as well, staying close to the dark force. Perhaps the mortal betrayer? For a moment his concentration snapped, and his darker energies lashed out, a whirling vortex carving the surrounding monsters in two as he flew up to the beauty that seemed to be directing them all. He had sworn never to take a human's life, but this had to be done. A look of horror overcame her features whe she saw death rushing toward her, and she shouted something in a foreign tongue. Before he reached her he was knocked back and once more surrounded, but this time his situation was much different.

Seven identical beings danced around him, smiling demon shadows that cackled and sneered, but did not appear to have physical form, having two-dimensional bodies. He swung his scythe at the one before him, but it simply bent backward, avoiding the slice altogether. He swung both scythe and his fist repeatedly at the shadows all around him, using every battle skill that Ares had ever taught him, but the creatures would just bend out of the way, and strike at his blind side whenever they could. His gravity spells were doing nothing to them either, not even hindering their attacks. The insidious mocking laughter of one of the generals grated at his nerves as he battled. He'd hoped it was Zoicite so he could make good on his promise to reduce the man to his base energies... but this was taking too much out of him. He could feel himself weakening, but knew he had to be strong, to stop the armies, to save his love. Another blow sent a reeling shock to his brain: his mortal body just suffered back trauma. He would have trouble walking when he was mortal again. Struck so hard that his mortal body could feel it? Spinning about to meet his attacker, realization appeared in his eyes, and he stopped slicing at the seven shadows when they stepped away, looking in horror at their faces.

Each one bore the face of the very being the princess of Saturn sacrificed herself to destroy.

His mind wrapped everything together. The chaos strike, powered by her death reborn revolution, shredded the monster into seven... each of those seven were now battling him. It was no wonder the armies weren't able to hurt the being: even the power of death couldn't destroy it! What 'was' this monstrosity? But he remembered: they could be hurt. Recalling its roar of pain when struck from Venus' blasts, he concentrated on the complex molecular pattern of light energy, firing a concentrated blast that exploded upon contact of one of their heads. The shadow monster held its head, no longer smiling, a warbled look in its eyes. He then realized why they'd stopped attacking, and why they were smiling that evil smile. The seven shadow warriors were binding him physically. He could already begin to see the faint outline of the crystal seal forming around him, and he swung his scythe toward the unmoving shadow before him, only to have it rebound.

He was too late.

When the seal was complete, the shadows dispersed, and the army moved on to Earth's moon, but the 'Dark Force' stayed.

"Greetings, Thanatos. I am Metallia. The Profound Darkness bids you greeting as well." it spoke in the language his family used, and he seemed baffled by its greeting.

'My mother... what does she have to do with this...?' he thought. "Why are you doing this? Why do you still fight creatures of light when the war is over?"

"You were never meant to understand the concept of war. Ares was born with that gift. The war is only over when there is but one victor. Creatures of light and darkness are still alive, therefore the war is not over."

"Then why did you have Ares destroyed? And Chronos? Why don't you have them destroy me, too!" He shouted, bright green tears streaming down his white mask. He was upset and angry. Not just at his mother, but at himself. He'd sent the young princess of Saturn to her death, and the rest of the people were going to die anyway. His only remaining brother was Noah, and there was no guarantee he was alive either. They hadn't spoken since they left for this system.

"Ares was in our way, and doing us harm, when he should have been impartial. Your brother Chronos was never found. As for you... mother wanted to set an example for you. You should know better than to take sides. You and Ares took after her, yet you choose to serve creatures of light. As for you, she told us to instruct you in the ways of pain, both physical and emotional. All four of you chose mates that were creatures of light. At least your cowardly brothers Noah and Chronos had enough sense to hide like the creatures of light they protect."

Thanatos rammed his metal fist against the sealed crystal with all his might, but only made a small chip in its faceted surface. Apparently, there were a few things in the universe even stronger than Laconia. "You even THINK about harming these people, and I will hunt down every last vestige of your kind and wipe them from this universe!"

"Fool. I needn't think about it. It is already being done. Suffer in your prison like your mother does, powerless to help your 'friends'." the cloudlike monstrosity sneered and shunted down to the battle on the moon, the power of tandle erupting from its bloated, cancerous body, shredding the surface of the planet and its structures. Thanatos pushed and pounded with all his might, but knew that there would be no way to get there in time from within his prison. The seal was too complete to move out as a mist, and his cloak couldn't pass through the crystal if he phased out, or if he stepped into the dark space. There wasn't even enough room to swing his scythe and open a rift into Chronos' dimension of time to travel back out. He shook visibly as he pounded at the crystal. He was going to lose them. He was going to lose them all. The alliance. The worlds. His brothers. His friends.

Amilia.

A roar of rage echoed within the sphere of crystal, his scream shaking and vibrating the atoms of the condensed crystal, much like it had in the castle of Mercury, a power that creatures of darkness were infused with, but still it refused to budge or crack. He screamed for so long that he hadn't realized his prison had shattered from a massive explosion of light energy from Earth's moon.

Seeing the blast of light dissipate, he had no inclination to move. He feared what he'd find on the surface. It could have only been the power of the moon's silver crystal, for light energy of that magnitude wasn't capable from a normal creature of light, and certainly Chronos wasn't capable of that either. Metallia was nowhere to be seen, and the surface looked still from his vantage point. The battle was indeed over. It had to be. Half the planetoid where the blast occurred was now charred black.

But when he remembered that the darkness' greatest warrior had even managed to evade destruction through his power, he sped off to the moon. He had to be sure. Had to MAKE IT over.

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How tragic to be a survivor to that massacre! Will he find nothing on the surface, or perhaps the queen? What will Thanatos do now that he has nothing? 


	38. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 27

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: I'm tired of writing author's notes. Not like people read them anyway. asdfjeoriorhgon;reibn;ra.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 27:

The moon was a wasteland. The palace lay in ruins, the fountains were smashed and dry, and even the atmosphere was beginning to dissipate from the sheer amount of magical energy expended. Flowers were wilted. The hum of life was all but gone. The darkness had already begun absorbing every resource even before they were eliminated. He saw movement far off, and his fears were confirmed. Survivors. Two lone creatures of light remained, one with barely enough strength to stand. He recognized her as the moon's queen, and was amazed in itself to see her alive after a blast of that magnitude. The other almost looked like...

"...Amilia...?"

But it wasn't her. This girl was taller, and armed with twin metallic boomerangs that slashed at...

'...no...'

Those seven shadow-beings were still alive after a blast like that. What the hell were they?

"Queen Serenity..." he said, speeding over to her after she had collapsed against a fallen column. "The wand. Give me the wand. I need to end this now!"

Her eyes had barely opened and her left hand raised just enough, shakily holding the crescent-shaped weapon of destruction, the crystal embedded in its curve. "Th... they're gone... all of... them..."

He snatched the wand from her as her fingers dropped it nervelessly. He had to save someone. At least one. He turned about, only to see the lone female blue-haired warrior implaed through her chest and out her back, the shadow's arm still through her, dripping gore. The seven pairs of eyes fell on Thanatos once more and that same sinister, red-lit grin lay there, a hissing chuckle eminating from somewhere upon their bodies. The shadow dropped the girl's limp body.

Something snapped. That might as well have been Amilia. That girl was still family as a Mercurian. "Damned shadows... DAMN YOU ALL! I CURSE THY UNHOLY FORMS! NO ONE ESCAPES ME! FROM ETERNAL DARKNESS YOU WERE BORN, AND TO ETERNAL DARKNESS I RETURN THEE!"

The energy of death is the power of sorted chaos, and chaos energy itself is as finite as the cosmos. Thanatos only had a small grasp on this power due to his 'creature of light' lifestyle. But, such power, forced through an amplifier like his father's crystal, created a small black hole that pulled in and crushed the seven beings, enclosing them into the facets of the crystal. He didn't even think when he poured all his 'void' energies into the crystal, and when he finally stopped and the last shadow was gone, he realized the crystal was no longer in the wand. It had fallen from its place, broken into seven colored gems. Each gem held the screaming tortured face of one of the shadows, which were now sealed like he once was. His cloaked form dropped, as did the wand, and his hands clasped over the top of his hood as he sobbed.

It was over.

What price, victory?

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Barely what you could consider a chapter. It seems now that Thanatos is indeed the only survivor of the war of the Silver Millennium... so apt that death reigns in a dead system. But is it over? Of course not! XD Keep an eye out for more! 


	39. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 28

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Fleh. My work no longer allows internet connection, so I can't post from there. Bad enough it's boring here, but now I can only type the story up on off-occasions.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 28:

Thanatos pulled the thin gauzy soul of the last blue-haired warrior free from its lifeless body, recognizing the familiarity. It was Princess Amilia's runaway sister Kyra, the one who would have been queen had she only accepted her fate. Still, it would have ended the same, just that he probably would not be able to unite Saturn, which was moot anyway... and he'd never have met Amilia. He placed the soul in his pouch to send to judgement later, then realized the queen of Mercury's soul was missing from his pouch. Her time had come, and she passed into the cauldron... but did this mean she would have died when this war happened? Was it fated that they would fail in their defense? He turned to the Queen of the moon, who was just barely conscious.

"It is done. I'm sorry, your majesty. Had we only known sooner... "

"...n-nothing you... could have done... too strong... "

Thanatos looked down at the dying queen. So much of her energy had been lost in the release of power that wiped out the forces against the moon... He never should have given the wand to her. He should have taken the crystal from her and wiped out the entire army himself when he heard of it. That crystal was never meant for mortal hands. So many lives, lost simply because he and his brothers put faith in them to defend themselves...

It was then that he realized the lack of spiritual presence on the moon. It had wiped out their own forces too.

"The spirits... I can't sense any of them, your majesty."

"I'm s-sorry, Thanatos. I couldn't destroy the enemy without killing everyone... but all of the royalty is now dead. Were there no survivors on the other worlds?"

"I was informed that Neptune and Uranus are gone, and I can only assume the same of Saturn. The entire population of Mars and Jupiter were fighting up there, and Venus took a direct blast from their strongest warrior... the entire surface of the world looks molten. I have no idea about Mercury yet. Perhaps being close enough to the sun, they were not considered a threat." Thanatos explained, but he knew he was fooling himself. The darkness was after everyone, and Mercury's planetary defense mechanisms hadn't fired at the huge shadow entity, nor had they answered Ares' communications earlier. "I see no evidence of the bodies, either. Did the crystal obliterate everyone?"

"No, I d-didn't kill any of them. I m-merely s-sent them ahead. Gave them another chance. A chance for life... for peace. I used the crystal's p-power of judgement... to seal the darkness and send the rest ahead. It was the most... most humane thing I could think to do."

Thanatos would have struck her if he thought it would have made a difference. Instead of letting the natural course of reincarnation come forth, she forced it upon them. The new 'normal and peaceful' life they had would be plagued with fighting the darkness, and strong memories of a past life would eventually trigger. Even the darkness would be reborn without being sent to the negaverse's dark cauldron for judgement, and none of them would learn their lessons. At least Metallia would remain sealed. The level of energy was enough to shatter his binding shell, so it would be enough to keep Metallia imprisoned. It was no wonder the silver crystal had broken apart from such stress. "What you've done is a terrible thing, but I understand that you didn't think any course of action would be better."

The two cats that had run off to warn the others now returned, hopping about the rubble.

"Majesty, you did it!" the black cat spoke. She didn't even seem to see Thanatos. But the white one did. He did, and he knew.

"Luna... The queen's not going to make it. Thanatos is here."

She looked to the white cat, not really comprehending what he said, then followed his gaze to Thanatos, and tears welled up in her eyes. "...No... please don't take her from us... please..."

Sad pools of Jade glowed from behind the white mask. "All that work and effort, trying to eliminate my prejudice, and even the last two animals believe I am a thief..." he sighed. "You two will be necessary. The queen sent everyone into forced reincarnation. We need to send you two ahead as well to warn the others. You will have to remind the survivors of this war that it isn't over. It never will be. I will return around that time, as well. Even if I do not take the queen's spirit, she will die here. The atmosphere is dissipating from the crystal's use and the darkness' theft." He took the queen's limp arms, her body barely clinging to life. "We will take care of them, your majesty... rest now. Just hold on." he said, pulling her body into the black space of his cloak. He couldn't let her die this way. "You two, hop in. We're making a trip to Mercury."

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Hey, what's going on here? This isn't quite how you remember it, is it? Of course it's not. It's MY story! XD I hope you've all enjoyed reading thus far. There's only a little bit more to this book, then it's on to book three, to pick up where book one left off! 


	40. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 29

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Coming upon the last few chapters of book two. Thanatos needs to find a way to preserve the survivors until needed, and to prepare the reborn creatures of light for the coming battles in the distant future. But could more surprises be in store for the physical manifestation of death?

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 29:

Like the other worlds, Mercury was a wasteland. The surface's plants and soil had been scorched away, devoid of life. 'The forest where Amilia and I first kissed is gone as well.' Thanatos thought. He shook the thoughts aside, since he realized he had to hurry, and found one of the mechanical production domes. All that remained was the mechanical, and even that was suffering due to the immense amount of heat reflecting from the sun, the world's mechanical and magical protection now gone. The planetary defense mechanisms were broken and shattered, probably by agents of darkness amongst the people. King Marcus was right in investigating after all... for what good it did.

The black space of Thanatos' cloak was a near-infinite storage space, where he himself hid as a defense. The cloak was two-dimensional when not filled out by his three-dimensional form, so he could travel on different planes of existence, and at tremendous speeds. Within the cloak, he could store a thousand lifetimes of work, and indeed he had such things: the desk he'd written up the contract upon to come to Mercury and court their princess, the books on Silver Millennium Law, scrolls of knowledge filled with the magics and healing from Saturn, weaponry from each world, even a resting place for the brief times he needed it. Right now, Queen Serenity occupied that bed, growing more and more pale, while her guardians tended to her. Finally, Thanatos found what he needed: Cryogenic pods. He'd remembered long ago when his brother Noah wanted to wait for his love to return, that he would use these pods to keep his mortal form alive and young for the day she would come back to him. Thankfully, he'd asked to learn how they worked when he realized Mercury had a very similar item. He found a larger one and pulled its mechanics into the black space, and two smaller ones for the two cats. Thankfully the three had independent power sources, though the larger one's power source was limited. Finding these, he pulled himself inside as well.

"You two must guide and train the people who have been forced into reincarnation. The crystal won't allow for Metallia to be free, but the humans and most of the monsters will be permitted to live again, and they can free her with enough energy. Above all, you must never let them find these." he said, showing them the seven colored crystals. "These seven crystals form the silver crystal that caused this mess, and if that falls into the hands of your enemy, along with the monsters within the crystal, then all will be lost. Until princess Serenity is reborn, and the evil is released from these gems, nobody may make the crystal whole again. As a precaution, I will disperse them on Earth, where the spirits were sent." he said, palming the gems, then pulling forth the crescent shaped wand. "Keep this for the moon princess, when the time comes. It's designed to home in on the specific energy signal of the crystal, so it should be able to find all the pieces." He rummaged through the relics he'd found after the battle, and came across a mysterious brooch he'd found in the remains of the castle, a pen with a gem at its tip, and four other pens, each with a symbol of each of the four inner planets. "Certainly, these must have some use that you are familiar with." he was temporarily tempted to keep the Mercury-symbol pen, but it would have no use to him.

Luna and Artemis only nodded. "These items will be most helpful in defending once they awaken... but what of the queen? Why are you keeping her here?"

"I must save someone... if nothing else, to remind me that I tried my best to defend this system, but even immortals may be humbled... even destroyed." his thoughts drifted off as he found one last item in the bag... the ring he'd given Amilia.

The two cats lowered their heads as Thanatos lifted the Queen into the chamber, laying her hands over her stomach. "If one day I may find a way to restore you, Queen Serenity, then I will. It is my penance. I shall see you again when I wake you..." he said, lowering the glass pane and beginning the procedure. He edged the cats into their pods as well. "I will time your pods to open four years before their full reincarnation, when their memories may begin to set in during maturity. During that time, you must train them to fight the darkness, because if they do not, darkness will win, and the last free planet in this system will be just like the others. There may yet be one or two survivors." he thought, remembering the words of Metallia, that they hadn't found Chronos. "I will search for them in the meantime. When the darkness comes in full force, my brothers and I will return to defend you all."

They stayed silent and eased into the pods, closing their eyes when he closed the smaller glass canisters, and set dates upon the two for them to awaken. He waited for the glass pane to frost over on all three capsules, then raced for Earth to track down the souls of those that were sent ahead. It was difficult to pinpoint where they would land, since the queen had simply aimed for the planet. He was looking for two very distinct souls. Those of the princesses of Venus and Earth's Moon. These two were specifically guardians of the royalty of those respective planets... and the girls could respectively be considered 'next in line' in authority.

As he placed the white guardian cat's pod in a cavern near the soul of Venus' princess, he wanted to find Amilia's soul and hold onto it, to know when her time of judgement would be up, and when she would be born, to keep her with him and make her safe forever. He would love to even stay until that time, to be with her again, but he knew such a thing was impossible. He couldn't touch the spirits now, because they were already set for judgement. He silently chided himself and searched for the spirit of the Moon Princess, having placed the encapsulated black cat in a small cave near where the spirit would be born. Returning above the planet's atmosphere, he looked at the seven screaming shadows within the crystal shards.

"It's your fault the war ended this way. You killed my brother, made me sacrifice my gifted one, and imprisoned me while stopping your army. If you weren't present, the war would be won." he spoke judgement upon the seven, and he didn't know if they could hear him or even understand. "Let father's energies from this crystal purify your evil ways. Live peacefully, like the others that were sent ahead... and learn from your mistakes." With those words, he placed them all in one hand, and launched the crystals down upon the Earth. Never was he so glad to be rid of his enemies.

He sighed, thinking to himself in the silent vaccum of space, and staring at his love's ring. 'I hate doing this alone... but what can I do? Ares was obliterated, Chronos is nowhere to be found, and Noah... Noah!' he thought, now feeling the gentle yet insistent probe of his brother.

-'It's about time you answered me, Thanatos! I can't get in contact with Ares or Chronos! Where are they?'-

'...They're gone.' was all he could think to his brother.

-'What do you mean, 'gone'!'-

'The physical body of Ares was completely destroyed in a massive battle with the darkness... a being we never encountered before. Though we managed to shatter that massive dark creature, I was entrapped by its pieces... it caught me by surprise. A large form of Falz was behind that being, and Chronos... we haven't heard from him in more than a month. The planet he was residing upon is completely dead. No life anywhere. It's the same way with almost the entire solar system, now... the only life left is on the planet that started this mess; the one that was possessed by the darkness. Apparently there were a good deal of people that couldn't be corrupted by the darkness as easily.'

-'Did you check the door of time for Chronos?'-

Thanatos smacked himself for not thinking of that sooner. He even SUGGESTED it to Chronos before the last time he spoke with him! He should have known that since his own thoughts couldn't reach his brother in that dimension, that the communication technology wouldn't reach that dimensional plane either, so naturally Pluto's princess wouldn't hear it. 'I didn't! He may yet be alive. I'll let you know in a moment!' he thought aloud to his brother, then willed his scythe to tear open into the misty dimension of time, stepping through the tear which promptly sealed behind him.

"Chronos! Are you here?" Thanatos shouted into the fog. He saw a figure in the fog a distance away.

A female figure.

He returned to their normal language. "Princess Setsuna? I fear I have terrible news..." the figure didn't move. "Have you seen Chronos? I haven't been able to talk to him in many years, and he must know these events too."

Silence.

CLANG!

Thanatos had anticipated this. Chronos had taught Setsuna to test whomever approached the door of time with extreme predjudice, whether they were going through or not. She had mastered a good deal of Chronos' abilities, and was able to move at enough speed to catch nearly anyone off-guard, especially with her own impressive abilities included. But his own perceptions were far too heightened. The heart-shaped talisman atop her staff was caught in his scythe's curve, but defensively. He was well-trained in Chronos' abilities as well. "I may have been beaten by the darkness, but I still have enough strength to defeat Chronos' disciple. I mean you no harm, princess Setsuna. Please, just answer my questions, and I will be on my way."

Her gaze was dull. Red eyes stared at his cloaked form, and the stress against his scythe eased. "I haven't seen Lord Chronos for some time. What did you mean, when you said the darkness beat you?"

Thanatos sighed and recounted the tale since she was last seen, recognizing her outfit as being similar to the one worn by Saturn's princess in their time of crisis, except that she lacked shoulder covering altogether, and the crystal on her bow was scarlet like her eyes. Were these outfits related to these events somehow? She listened with horrified fascination about all he knew: the wars on Earth, the darkness outside their system, the death of her planet first, then the rest of them, the sacrifice of Sailor Saturn, the end of the alliance, the death of Ares, and the sacrifice of Queen Serenity. Her eyes reverted from their widened state, and she turned to move back to the door. "I'm sorry for the loss of everyone, but my duty to Lord Chronos was greater than my duty to serve my people. Had the darkness gotten here, the destruction could have been infinitely worse, and we'd never know that it happened."

"Indeed so. But Chronos was lax, in that he should have been here guarding WITH you, or at least to help guard your planet, or even guard here while you led your people. He said nothing about his location?"

"He said only that paradox came to this plane two decades ago being a thousand years old, and that he needed to figure out why the source of the paradox exists at that time, as well as a millennium from now. There are two of the same thing here." she said, righting her staff once more. "I await his return as much as you do."

Thanatos nodded in understanding. "Thank you for telling me, Princess. I hope he returns soon. If he does, please let him know what has transpired."

"I shall... but please, refer to me by my planet's name. I am Pluto."

Thanatos nodded, and with that, he tore back through the dimensions following the faint telepathic call of his brother Noah, finding himself on an icy world. He had hoped to find his brother, but the source of his thoughts were coming from such a desolate world such as this? What had happened?

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What HAD happened? Thanatos, saving the queen from death? Setsuna, oblivious to the plight of her own planet? Where the hell has Chronos been? What's been happening on Noah's end? What paradox do they refer to? Let's find out next time! 


	41. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 30

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: How did this drag into thirty chapters? This is what happens when you write for six months at every chance you get. I must have been possessed or something. This chapter focuses mostly on what's been happening on Noah's end of the war.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 30:

"Thanatos." he heard the calming voice of Noah from behind. He appeared to be only a few years older looking by mortal standards. Long, ice-blue hair hid beneath a hooded outfit similar to Chronos'.

"You look good for a mortal, Noah. Has it really been a thousand years?"

"More or less. Did you find Chronos?"

Thanatos shook his head. "He's on some paradox mission. You know how he can be. Ran off and didn't say a word, except to his woman, who can't contact anyone because she's guarding the gates instead of him."

Noah gave a wan smile, but it soon disappeared, replaced by a more serious face. "Many terrible things have happened recently. The darkness in your system, was it contained?"

"Er, yes. How did you know about that, anyway?" Thanatos seemed baffled. Why hadn't Noah contacted them sooner?

"Ares didn't tell you, did he?"

"Of course not. How typical of him."

"I told him the darkness was coming, but he didn't entirely believe me, because he didn't see it coming through his gift of predicting war. I suppose I should have told you as well, but it was difficult enough trying to locate him with the darkness monitoring me here. There are three sources of darkness: The original Falz was here, and two WERE in your system, but one fled approximately six years before the three of you arrived, and I've been unable to track him. The massive blackness that aided your enemy appeared a few days ago. It came from here."

"Where?"

"You know what system this is, don't you?" Noah queried.

"No. I simply used the gate's portal to find you." Thanatos tired of the questions upon questions. He was tired, both physically and emotionally. Perhaps he should use one of those cryogenic pods for himself.

"We're in the Algo system."

"Oh no..." Thanatos' brain wasn't all the way here, since he was still in shock from the death of almost an entire system, especially the death of his love. But he knew the name of this system all too well. "What caused such a creature to get loose?"

Noah guided Thanatos up into the atmosphere and pointed near the sun. "You remember that father sealed mother using this solar system, right? And that fool Emperor La Shiec cracked the seal slightly a thousand years ago?"

"Certainly. But what..." Thanatos remembered being in this system long ago. But something was very wrong. There was an asteroid belt in fairly close proximity to the sun. There was no asteroid belt before. He made a swift orbit of the sun and confirmed what he thought happened, coming back to Noah. "Parma. Planet Parma is gone. That asteroid belt is all that's left?"

Noah nodded sadly. "I couldn't stop Falz when he built himself back up again. He had control of a mechanical monstrosity that was taking care of all the planetary controls. It was making the desert planet Motavia actually able to support plant life and gather water." he said, pointing to a nearby space station. "Falz forced one of the system's satellites to crash into Parma. I had foreseen it and had my disciples send word to the planet's leaders, and about four-hundred planetary immigration vessels got clear before the planet shattered. I have no idea where they all headed, but the loss of life was minimal, compared to what it could have been."

"So what does all that have to do with where it came from?"

"This system is the seal on mother's dimensional prison."

"So... you're saying that since the planet was destroyed, there's now an escape route? And that thing was what escaped? There was something else trapped in there with her?"

"No... I believe mother has still been creating her creatures of darkness within... and there always was an escape route. Father's seal wasn't perfect. The millennial cycle of the universe expanding slightly causes a small opening to appear. Emperor La Shiec widened that seal to release Falz, and Falz just widened it even further by destroying Parma. Every time the hole gets bigger, something worse comes through. This time, it was that being. The creature that defeated the both of you."

"The dark force that called itself Metallia spoke to me before it left to destroy the rest of the system... it said that mother was teaching us an example... not to side with creatures of light..." Thanatos lowered his head and wiped the green tears from his mask. Had they been there the whole time he'd been speaking with Pluto? "She kind of has a point. We're her children as well as Father's. All of us chose creatures of light as mates, and we have an obligation to her as well as father..."

Noah swatted Thanatos' head with his staff, and he made to draw his scythe if his brother wanted to fight, but Noah quickly spoke. "Idiot! Don't even think about taking the blame for this, Thanatos." Thanatos understood and withdrew the weapon, and Noah did the same. "But now we know that despite the fact that she's trapped, her minions know full well that the war is over... they just don't care. She's still directing them. You weren't able to save anyone, were you?"

"Three. One creature of light, and two of the Musk-cat subspecies, the Mau. The creature of light..."

"...Unleashed the power of her soul through father's crystal. I know. I may be only a fate and spirit tracker, but I can tell father's energy when I sense a large explosion. Smart thinking, putting her in cryogenic hibernation. It's done wonders for me."

"I hate it when you do that..." Thanatos grumbled, referring to the fact that Noah could read even his brother's thoughts. "Do you know of any way to save her? She's extinguished almost all the energy of her soul in the use of father's crystal. I don't think my abilities can restore such power."

"She must remain in cryo-stasis for some time, until her soul has time to regenerate its lost energy. The energy will recover slowly due to the effects of the cryo pod... but that's keeping her alive, too."

"How long?"

"Bring her out."

Thanatos nodded and eased the cryogenic chamber from the black space in front of Noah. Noah ran his gloved hand over the glass, which had frosted over on the outside as well as inside.

"Hey, she's quite a looker."

"Ares said the same thing about her daughter." Thanatos mumbled. "She was the queen of her world. She governed the alliance of nearly every world in that system, but it still wasn't enough to stop the onslaught we faced."

Noah closed his eyes and focused upon the tapestry of the universe's fate, to the woman in the chamber in front of him. "Though she will be fully healed in a century or two, it appears that you won't wake her... or perhaps she won't wake, until another milennial cycle from now. Maybe even more time than that. Her thread is quite curious in its pattern."

"Terriffic. So I have to haul her around until then?"

"Of course not. Ares had a contingency plan for galactic evacuation, but he couldn't have planned for such a sudden attack. He had people from one of the worlds working on a gigantic transport. Plenty of room for plenty of people, much like we had done here with Parma. Too bad he couldn't use it."

"That must have been project Destiny... he mentioned it briefly at the last planetary ruler's meeting. So there are medical facilities on board? I suppose that will have to do... how do you know this?"

"I simply read his cut thread of fate. His reincarnation will be unnatural, just like the rest, and he won't be happy when his memories return. He'll also be alone, so perhaps we should be there when he manages to restore himself."

"Yes." Thanatos said, seeming very detached. Granted, he was grateful that they would return with the memories of their former lives, but he failed them. He didn't return for Amilia... but he'd be sure never to forget her. He failed them because of his mother. 'Damn her! Let her rot in that pris... on... oh no!' he thought, suddenly panicking. "Noah, with the seal in such a weakened state, is it possible that mother may be able to break out during the next millennial cycle's expansion?"

Noah summoned a sphere with trillions upon trillions of white lines intersecting and weaving about within. "Let's see... I can't read mother's thread, but I CAN read the threads of the people in this system... hmm..." Noah appeared to study the orb intently, as though trying to determine exactly WHAT he was looking at.

"Well?" Thanatos grew impatient. Just because they were immortal didn't mean they could take forever.

"...a full millennial cycle is a bit hazy, but... if she isn't the one that breaks out in the next cycle, it's her minions that sure cause a lot of damage all by themselves."

"If she does, we might as well kiss all the creatures of light goodbye. Look at the whole tapestry and see if you can read that far ahead."

He zoomed out to focus upon the most of the universe as he could as well as time expansion, and saw that the white threads were severed... if not immediately, then soon after. She was going to get loose upon the next cycle. "We will have to. As things stand now, we can't hope to stop her once she gets free."

"And with her desire to destroy everything our father ever created, she'll ruin everything again! We have to stop her before she does any damage!"

"The seal is already closed, so there's nothing we can do now. I will look for Chronos. He can't hide from me forever. In the meantime, take care of the woman. When the time comes for the resurrection of your friends and our brother, let us help them in any way possible. Perhaps Ares will be able to help also when he becomes aware as well."

"Ah, damn! The spirit!" Thanatos said, opening his bag. The spirit of Amilia's sister was still there. He had been so distracted by preparing the future generations that he forgot! He'd hoped to keep it with Amilia, so they would be together in their new life. Now he guaranteed they wouldn't.

"I will hold onto it. This spirit has excellent potential, much like many of the students I have here." Noah explained.

Thanatos reluctantly handed over the small gauzy item, watching Noah pocket it carefully in his own pouch. Moving spirits from their originating area could mess up the balance of a planet's life, much like bringing an animal to another part of a world could ruin the ecosystem, but he trusted Noah's judgement. After all, what purpose would being born on a dead world serve? "That reminds me, what happened to your source of darkness? Were you able to beat the thing?"

Noah looked down and shook his head. "I wasn't powerful enough to try, but powerful weapons and armor were on this world, possibly made from father's destruction. There were seven young warriors that went to defeat it, but even these powerful weapons aren't strong enough to kill it completely. Its essence manifested itself upon one of the escaping ships from Parma. The computer system that was controlling this solar system's climate was so corrupted that they'll have to destroy that too, because corrupt humans have control of it."

"Humans! Do you think they organized this all?"

"It's possible... but even if they did, it wasn't their own doing."

"Right, mother had control of it all." Thanatos realized. Noah gestured to the spacecraft once more to indicate where the battle was being held, only to watch it suddenly zoom away from the planet.

"There's something you don't see everyday. Either your small group won out in the end and managed to get those humans away from your system, or the humans are making a tactical retreat." Thanatos commented, then moved back to the surface of the ice planet, his brother following.

"In any event, the damage done by the reborn Falz will soon lead to the near-collapse of this solar system, and it will only recover after a lot of work and time... but that will be for nothing, because it will just face collapse again when mother escapes."

"Is there a way to fix the seal?"

"That's a matter of perspective. Can you reconstruct a planet in a thousand years?"

"I can't reconstruct one at all. None of us can. We don't have powers of creation, only destruction, or indirect action."

"Then your question is rather moot, isn't it?"

Thanatos growled low, digging his laconian fingers into a nearby block of ice, pulling out and crushing what he'd grabbed hold of. Someone was going to pay, and his brother was here trying to be funny! "I don't like cryptic shit, Noah. Give it to me straight. Can anything be done?"

Noah paced, eyes closed in thought and snow crunching under his white boots. Noah always seemed very feminine in looks. A pretty boy. Like Zoicite. Bitter memories stabbed at Thanatos, but he showed no outward sign. His older brother might be wise, but he was also arrogant and irritating. Even with all that, Noah didn't deserve his wrath.

"At the next cycle, there will be another group with abilities that will allow them to beat back the darkness, but they will need help. A great deal of it, too. I'll be whipping myself into shape for that time. Perhaps my love will return to help us as well."

"Alis? You really think she'll have the stomach to fight the darkness again after what it got her?"

"I can try to persuade her. As I said, a great deal of help would be needed... but there is a chance of success if we take whoever we can into the dark cauldron to kill mother."

"...You're not serious! We can't kill our own mother!"

Noah shot a glare at Thanatos. "She just killed her youngest son, and everyone we ever cared about. She's destroying everything father made. She didn't want us to take a side, but I think she already chose our side FOR us. She has every right to die. Nothing lasts forever, brother. Our father showed that to us himself."

He stared in shock until the words sank in, then lowered his head with a sigh. "Perhaps... perhaps you're right. Hey, whatever happened to Alis, anyway? I never could figure what stopping that entity did to her, only that it wasn't good."

Noah's eyes closed sadly. "She tried to seal it away... mother had created it before she was sealed away herself, you know. Alis... her body was corrupted by the darkness she sealed, and there was nothing I could do to help her. All she ever wanted to do was end the war... but with that thing overtaking her, it perverted that dream into killing all the creatures of light. Indeed, if she did, the war WOULD be over. She didn't recognize me for who I was anymore. This is my fourth physical body. She wrecked the last one. I've decided not to interfere until she's stopped and reincarnated, or if she's able to fight it off. I'm simply not powerful enough, or well versed enough in my abilities to stop an entity like that myself without even killing her outright. Perhaps I should be spending more time improving myself? Especially for the next expansion."

"Do that for your next body, that way you'll be young enough to withstand the training. I don't know how long your mortal bodies last, even with cryogenics, but I'm going to want you in tip-top shape when the day comes. I'll get Ares up to speed when his body returns."

The two remaining brothers shook hands, and Thanatos spoke aloud, not to Noah, but for any to hear. "The children of destiny, as they are, now stand in a pact of righteousness. I, Thanatos, lord of silence and death, protector of the Silver Millennium and master of the healers of Saturn, swear upon the destruction of my soul and the soul of my love, that I will fight to my last to defeat the darkness that has done us grievous wrong."

Noah blinked at his brother, then nodded in understanding, looking up. "I, Noah, lord of fate and destiny, protector of the Algo solar system and master of the Esper race of Dezolis, swear upon the destruction of my soul and the soul of my love, that I will fight to my last to defeat the darkness that has done us grievous wrong."

Their hands clasped tightly, and an icy wind blew, as though nature acknowledged their oath. Releasing hands, Noah brought forth the orb once more and expanded it a bit. "It will take time to find Chronos."

"Very funny." Thanatos snorted.

Noah smirked. "Find the craft. It's time we started preparing. It's going to take a lot of work and planning."

Thanatos nodded and tore through the dimensional barriers once more to the surface of Mars. Even with no people, the darkness still raped the planet of its resources. Every world was a wasteland save Earth. Surfaces of worlds were either molten or dust.

For Mars, it was rubble.

'Okay, now where would Ares hide a gigantic spacecraft?' he thought, circling the red planet several times. No luck. 'Damn it all, Ares... I'd bury you if you were alive, you...' he thought in frustration, then sudden inspiration as he phased through the rubble of the castle. Sure enough, below the surface was a large pocket of air, and a defunct droid sat by the entry of a massive spacecraft. He'd seen these before on Mercury: Robotic citizens. This one was a Wren-class android, its only humanoid features were the false hair and rubber face. Otherwise, he was as mechanical as the ship itself. These droids were ancient already, some existing even before the moon kingdom came about, and most were quirky if they existed for a long enough time. But this one looked rather new, almost overhauled, even the rubber face looked improved-upon.

"Let's see if we can get you up and running again."

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Ahh, so things become all the more clearer for you Phantasy Star fans... or do they? Is this just far too confusing for some of you? One more chapter to go before we return to the present storyline. Enjoy! 


	42. The Path of Finding Destiny: Chapter 31

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's Notes: Well, it's the final chapter of The Path of Finding Destiny. I'm almost sad to see it end, as I rode the same emotional rollercoaster as each of the characters in order to write this.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both. Thanatos, Ares, Chronos, Aljus, King Marcus, and the worthless one are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Path of Finding Destiny, Chapter 31:

--/WAR-WREN UNIT BOOT SYSTEMS ACTIVATED- -CHECKING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS- -DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE: ONE ERROR FOUND- -CORRECTING INTERNAL CHRONOMETER FOR TIME INDEX OFFLINE- -INITIATING OPTICAL SENSORS AND MOBILITY-/--

The droid's eyes came to life, if you could call it that, and attempted to focus on the ghostly figure of Thanatos, with little success.

"No life forms detected. Internal scans state external startup not generated from emergency pulse. How was I awoken?"

Thanatos realized that he was totally invisible to machines because their vision was based upon science, not magics. Willing away his transformation once more, he put weight on his feet and collapsed. His mortal body was in tremendous pain, even after his immortal transformation's energies should have shielded him. The droid seemed undisturbed in the least from the sudden appearance of Thanatos' mortal form.

"Anomalous data. Magic in use, does not compute: ignored. Greetings, I am Warren, class VIII. How may I be of service?"

"Could you help me up?"

"You are injured?" the humanoid machine lifted Samuru to his feet, and he braced himself upon his cane. He didn't think he'd REALLY have to use it.

"I'll live. Warren, are you aware of the workings of this vessel?"

"Affirmative. I was programmed to be its automatic and manual pilot in the event of disaster. Is this such a case?"

"Yes, it is. I am Samuru Sotanaht, better known as Thanatos, brother of Lord Ares."

"Lord Ares was most kind to have me rebuilt for this task. Where is he?"

"Lord Ares was killed in battle. This solar system is almost devoid of life."

"That is most unfortunate." The War-Wren droid said emotionlessly. He couldn't expect much more from a machine. "Were I active, I would have wished to participate in the battle. Since you are Lord Ares' only programmed second, you have my complete cooperation. What is my function now?"

Ares set him to be second in command? "We need this ship active. What are the main functions of this ship?"

"The ship is capable of transport between solar systems, long-sustained survival, medical facilities, training facilities, war capabilities, a vast computer database... "

"That will do, thank you." he interrupted the mechanical doll. "Warren, does this vessel have communication capabilities?"

"Affirmative." it replied, opening the doors and heading for the main engine area, Samuru following silently. "If it did not, this ship would not be able to call for or respond to help. This is supposed to be an emergency vessel, after all. What did you have in mind?"

"I need to leave a message that will last almost a thousand years. To serve as a warning for the people's reincarnation."

"Reincarnation does not compute." it said, keying in commands at speeds that should have only been possible by Chronos.

"That doesn't matter, does it?" he asked rhetorically, a note of irritation growing in his voice.

"No, it does not." it replied, moving to another terminal, apparently ignoring the tone. The ship was slowly lurching to life from the commands issued by the machine. "A message that will last that long may deteriorate partially. I can guarantee the video will be completely gone by that time, but audio may suffer the least."

"That's fine."

"Would you like to do so now?"

"I need some time to think out what I wish to say."

"Very well. Communication probe dispatched below Mars' surface for transmittal. Begin recording transmission when ready."

EPILOGUE:

As the gigantic Ark named 'Destiny' launched from beneath the surface of Mars, Thanatos looked longingly at Mercury, the world he had called home, from one of the thick transparent walls. He'd had it all... family, friends, love, success, his duty, even a world of his own. All of those things, along with everyone else's, was now gone. Some of it would return, and some would not. Would the woman he loved still love, or even remember him? Would the alliance ever stand again with the worlds in such disastrous shape? Would they help to battle the source of darkness when the time came?

"Warren... is there paper on board to make a log of everything that has happened? I must make sure this is remembered... if not by others, then at least to remind myself."

"I can record everything you speak, Lord Sotanaht. It can be done by the machines on board, if you wish."

Samuru ran his hand through his hair, realizing he had to stay in his mortal form for this, still rather uncomfortable leaning on his cane. "May I begin?"

"Begin when ready." The War-Wren unit spoke, setting course for the Algo solar system. It would take half a year by ship, but it was going to be necessary to transport the queen properly, and Noah would surely need his help in Algo to prepare.

Samuru looked down at Amilia's ring, rubbing his finger over the sapphire, the symbol of Mercury reappearing whenever light hit the gem. Tears rolled over from his eyes silently, and he spoke. "Every world but one is now gone. Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom sacrificed everything to save her people, but at a terrible cost. Last I had seen, all the royalty was on that Moon, and Queen Serenity claims all the royalty had died in the attack. Princess Amilia, if you one day read or hear this in your reincarnated form, your sister will not be with you. I will one day bring you to her. I'm sorry I was not able to keep my promise to return to you in time, but we suffered losses as well. As the only true survivor of the destruction of the Silver Millennium, I begin this log with the one thing I learned from my experiences... that happiness cannot be sought if you choose a path of finding destiny, for destiny shall find you, and what a terrible price you will pay for trying to change its events. Noah knew this... I think that is why he seemed so angry a decade ago, and let us make this mistake of altering destiny to find our loved ones. Now only Chronos, Noah, and myself remain, along with Chronos' love, Setsuna... who now prefers to be called by her planetary name, for some reason. Perhaps his power over time protected her, but my own power was unable to save my love, Amilia. For anyone that reads this: Never... never attempt a path of finding destiny. Never make the mistake we made to alter the universe to your liking.

...end log."

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Well folks, that's it. My take on what happened at the end of the Silver Millennium. Sure, seems rather contrived and depressing, but it's how I pictured it. I mean, how can you describe the destruction of an entire system unless you're one of the only survivors? Hopefully this will explain everything. Thank you for reading, and please, read the sequel to this fic, book three: "End of the Millennium: The Journey", due not quite as quickly as this book was finished. See you next time! 


	43. The Journey: Chapter 1

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade production

Author's Note: Well, College has been kicking the snot out of me, and I had to fix a few of the old chapters so that they would fit with my story, but now I'm back! I'm glad to welcome all my wonderful fans and readers (yeah right) to my third book in the EotM series: The Journey. Please review, critique, or PM me at your leisure. As much as I enjoy the reviews, I've given up on waiting for them.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both, and you wouldn't be reading this right now. Thanatos, Ares, and Chronos are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Journey, Chapter 1:

"We've got to try and get out of here, Artemis! There must be some other way out of this room!" Luna shouted at him. Her fur stood on end, ear twitching at every crumble of slightly falling pebbles from between the cobblestone walls.

"Will you relax, Luna? If they wanted to hurt us, we wouldn't be locked in a room. I don't like being locked up any more than you do, but the room's not small enough for you to be all on edge like this! They'll let us out when they think we've cooled off. I think we should do just that." Artemis sighed, having held his ears while she screeched at him for what seemed like the thousandth time about getting out of the room.

"I can't relax! Those two might as well have kidnapped the senshi, as much as us! You know what they were asking, and you know our rules! We can't interfere with outsiders dilemmas!" Luna reminded him.

"I know, Luna... but I'm not entirely sure they're outsiders. I've been thinking about it now that I've had time to settle down. Don't they seem familiar somehow?"

"I don't care, Artemis. When that door opens again, I'm not going to sit here! I'll jump past them, move around them... I'll even attack them if I have to! We have to warn the girls!" Luna was definitely losing it.

Artemis got up and shook his head. "And I used to think you were the sensible one. All right, we'll both do this together, next time they come in the room. If we both can't get past, one of us will go for help. Now will you calm down a bit? You'll be able to focus on whether they're coming or not." He nuzzled her to help her relax. "We'll make it out of this somehow."

Meanwhile, not too far away...

"Your mother!" the senshi shouted simultaneously, staring at the odd trio of brothers.

"Wouldn't that make you our enemy, since she created you? Why did we ally ourselves with you, even before the war? Did your 'alliance' let the enemy through our defenses? ANSWER ME!" Saturn screamed, not waiting for her answers, running toward Thanatos' sitting form with her glaive ready.

Saturn's glaive gave a sudden shriek of tortured metal when it came into contact with Ares' sword, who held her attack at bay."Let him speak, child of destruction. Though we bear powers that 'may' have aided your enemies, and though we were created from the same strain of evil, we did indeed fight against them." Ares explained and pushed against the assault, overcoming Saturn and pushing the end of the glaive into the stone floor, knocking her on her backside. They were fortunate she was not using her power while swinging, otherwise there would have been a big problem. She looked up at them with eyes that could devour a galaxy, a hollow void of black and purple that were determined to reap vengeance as she attempted in vain to rip her weapon from the floor. But indeed, she listened now.

"Thank you, brother." Noah spoke peacably. "We need no violence amongst allies, especially now."

"Now then... the events that led to your kingdom's destruction appear to be forgotten... it was more than just the corrupt people of Earth led by evil that caused the destruction. We know for a fact that you're at your strongest when united. The fact is that you were not. Our protection originally came only to the planets we served. Chronos to Pluto, Thanatos to Saturn, and myself to Mars. When the alliance of the Silver Millennium came about, I was rather excited. Such an alliance would indeed fight a great battle instead of individual planets... but there were complications. Only four of the five inner planets joined that alliance: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. Earth was apparently under the beginning stages of its corruption, and was refused the alliance of its moon. The four outer planets all claimed loyalty, but the alliance with Saturn was refused. It's obvious that those in power feared the power of silence, death, and destruction, and didn't want it to be part of the kingdom. In doing so, however, it severed a crucial link between the inner kingdom and the outer planets. Therefore, the outers were removed from the alliance as well... and atop all that Chronos, in his infinite stupidity, decided to take a thousand years off, and pull Pluto's ruler from her throne to guard the gates of time. Because of this disunification, and the silence between the planets, the outers were unable to warn the Silver Millennium in enough time before those planets were wiped clear by the incoming Dark Force and the corrupt humans that made up the dark moon. With them gone, the enemy within struck down Mercury's technological defenses, and their minions faced us. Never had I felt shame until that day... when a battle was lost by the master of war." Ares summarized the difficulties of the time, the memory leaving a foul taste in his mouth.

Lady Serenity nodded in acknowledgement. "I remember reading about that. History says that's how the people of the Nemesis got back in and turned the people against us: using the fear of Saturn. They were afraid Sailor Saturn would be reborn again as the destroyer, when it was really the death phantom."

'So this will happen again...? How can we let it when we swore it would not?' Thanatos mulled over it, remembering what she'd said about him before, being the creature that attacked them in her dream. 'Would we one day be unfit to perform our duties?'

"There is something we would like to investigate, but we'd prefer if you came along. It would be of great benefit to you in preparing you for what's to come, especially if you choose not to help us in our mission."

"What might this mission be, exactly?" Sailor Moon asked, looking to the outers. She'd been pretty quiet until now. Most of the senshi had. But the outers, aside from Saturn, were silent since their arrival. Usagi knew that the outers were quite often opposed to battling outside of their jurisdiction, so she tried to assure herself that they were actually cooperating in this respect.

It seemed unlikely.

"It sounds suicidal, but they plan to take out this 'Profound Darkness'. Their own mother." Neptune explained. "They want vengeance for the mess it made of our kingdom, but they also have a theory that if they eliminate it, the source of darkness and evil that respawns in our galaxy every so often will cease. ChibiUsa's future kills that theory though..." Neptune explained.

"...Not entirely." both Pluto and Noah intervened in unison. He gestured for her to speak, not really looking away from his work.

"We don't know whether we helped them or not in Chibiusa's future, or whether they would be successful with or without our help. We're shooting blind, trying to figure out a future that isn't fully written." Pluto argued plainly.

"Atop that, humans are easily swayed by either side, though never completely and altogether. These humans in the future may still be corrupted even after the darkness is dispelled." Noah explained, running his finger along a series of thin threads. "I can tell you that whether you help us or not, our paths will cross once more. We will be unsuccessful without your help, that much I can ascertain. Look here... the threads blacken when we meet again. It means we shall arrive as enemies. The only way that is possible is if we fail completely, and succumb to the darkness. If we fail, and you manage to defeat us in that time, it still will not mean your safety. The seal around the dimensional prison has weakened drastically over the last millennium. If she forces against the seal on schedule, it will give way. Once freed, nothing will be able to stop her, not even if all the sailor senshi of this universe tried to fight her simulatenously, nor if we assisted them."

"Well then, how long until she forces against the seal?" Jupiter asked.

"Less than a year. Within a few days of initial pressure, a rupture should open that should be large enough for us to enter. Being confined, she will not be at her full power. That will be our opportunity to strike." Thanatos finished. Something about his tone of voice seemed to make it final.

"All right then." Mercury blurted out. The others looked at her warily. Ami never made a decision off the bat without wholly analyzing its repurcussions. "Say we join you and your pre-emptive strike. What difference can we make? How can we improve ourselves further? And I suppose I should ask this on behalf of the others... what's in this for us?"

There was an unvoiced collective sigh of relief. If Ami didn't know the answers, she always knew the right questions to ask, that was for sure.

"Each bit of help can make a difference." Thanatos assured her. "Since you are creatures of light, your powers and energies may very well do more damage than we can. Our natural abilities, as you've noticed, work well enough against her underlings. But against the Profound Darkness, they almost seem to nullify. Noah cannot decipher threads coming from her, Chronos can't see a future we care to fight for that does not involve her, Ares cannot sense a war caused directly by her, nor affect and decipher it... but as for myself... I don't know. If the giant blackness that managed to defeat myself and Ares is a product of our creator, then I don't know how much of a chance we'll have. We need to take any chance we can get, and that means getting as much help as possible. As for improving yourselves, training en-route will be a bit more difficult than what you've become used to on Earth. New techniques and abilities beg to free themselves, I can tell. What you all stand to gain is not only the explanation and release of your locked-away memories, but also lasting peace. I know you've heard that before, yes. But the source of all your trouble stares at you from behind bars and has been hurling blemishes upon your planet like a caged, crazed animal, and will one day break free and devour it. Peace will come when she ceases to be."

Again, the rough silence caused by his words.

Venus suddenly got a frantic look, something having hit her in her own mind. "Where's Artemis and Luna?"

Ares sighed in relief, thinking perhaps another wave of darkness had come to his ruined world. "The two advisors did not seem to agree with our plan. They said it was none of your concern. They did not seem to want to change their minds, either, unlike all of you. They did not even want us to pass along our words to you. We had them confined, in a sense. They're locked in the room down the hall, if you wish to release them. I assume you can convince them where we failed."

Venus and Sailor Moon both headed in the direction of the locked room with the red soldier Ares, while the others remained and spoke.

"It was you, wasn't it, 'Rune'?" Sailor Mars strode up to Noah and prodded a finger into his chest somewhat angrily, not quite able to get between him and his work. "You made all the adjustments to the temple and the people while we were asleep, didn't you? You also adjusted the arcade so that there would be no casualties when that monster attacked, right?"

"With a little help from Chronos, I suppose you could say that I'm 'guilty as charged'." Noah said with barely a hint of a smirk, eyes never leaving the threads. "If I had taken everyone out of the cafe as well, it would be rather suspicious, no?"

"So why not make us forget about the whole incident? And if you could do all that, why not simply make Luna and Artemis believe you, so you wouldn't have to lock them up? Or, of all things, even make it so that Mamoru wasn't critically injured?" She continued to interrogate him, her finger threatening to poke through him. He casually grabbed her hand and eased it from his chest, continuing to trace the lines with his other hand, and still not even looking at her.

"If you haven't noticed, we four are firm believers in trust. We trust one another, and we trust our allies. If we simply 'changed' you, the trust would not exist. We changed the rest of the world around you because the exposure to the darkness is too great, and we don't wish to have the exposure cause corruption again. Don't you think it's odd that the people go about their normal lives every time you eliminate an enemy that threatens the planet? Each darkling that affects a world has basically been forgotten by its people once it's defeated. Do you not think people would remember events such as that of the Doom Tree, which swallowed an entire apartment complex? The entities of Nemesis from the future, spawning a gigantic black crystal in the very heart of the city? The coming of Pharoah ninety, whose destruction left a portion of the city in rubble? What of the dead moon circus, when the whole surface of the planet was covered in darkness? And what of Galaxia and Chaos, who had nearly murdered your entire world? Wouldn't the people be living in fear of their lives at every moment of the day, and even killing each other, or themselves, just to escape the nightmare?"

Noah had a sound point. "But you still haven't answered my question!"

"Regarding the prince? Once the damage of the darkness is done against a living soul, it cannot be undone by my power. The black wave that infected Earth's prince is a product of the profound darkness. Only the great light had the ability to counter her power, but he is long gone. Now we're doing all we can to minimize the damage. Just as you would do. I was there, you know. Watching you four inner senshi hold back the spreading horde of Daimons when Saturn first manifested herself. You're protectors, defenders. Not healers. In that respect, we aren't all that different."

Mars said nothing, stunned into silence. He spoke without emotion or force, yet he spoke with the strength of a person who'd seen and done too much.

"I'm sorry... it must have been a strain for you just to do all you did." she apologized reluctantly, and simply turned away in thought. 'These guardians have done much for us, and they've never asked thanks or even acknolwedged their own existence to us before. I didn't realize just how much damage was being done to our world, and how it just spontaneously 'healed' when the enemy vanished. Have they really been helping us this whole time without our knowledge?'

Down the hall:

"I still don't see why you had to lock them up." Venus said. "I doubt they'd find a way back to Earth, and even so, if you'd explained it to us, we would be able to make a decision fairly."

Ares shrugged. "With all due respect, this isn't about politics anymore. They're royal advisors, not war advisors. That's what this is... a war. The first war. The ONLY war."

Sailor Moon shivered. Ares talked about war like she talked about Mamoru. She tried to hurry along, eventually coming to a heavy oaken door, sturdily locked. He fiddled with a large key ring filled with ancient brass and iron keys, undoing the locks one at a time, until the door was completely unsealed.

"After you, ladies." he gestured, and Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus pushed open the door.

"NOW!"

Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus screamed as Luna and Artemis pounced on the faces of their would-be jailors, bowling them both back into the burly arms of Ares, preventing their fall.

"I guess they're happy to see you two." Ares chuckled, pushing the girls back into a balanced standing position.

"Sailor Moon? Sailor Venus! What are you two doing here... and with THEM, no less!" Luna hissed at Ares, her fur bristling. "Have you kidnapped them as well, so they'll have no choice but to do as you say!"

Ares simply snorted and turned back down the hallway. "I leave the explanations to you girls. Let's hope you can do what we couldn't."

At the main hall:

Ares was fuming. The insult of the accusation made his blood boil over, and in anger, he knocked down the ancient oak door that led to the main hall. Sailor Mars rushed over to see what was wrong, but her questioning fell on deaf ears. He couldn't understand how Thanatos could take being called a murderer from Saturn, when being accused of kidnapping made him angry enough to kill. He gently brushed her to the side and slumped into an old, worn, comfortable-looking chair, rubbing his temples in a vain attempt to relieve his anger.

Thanatos hardly looked away from the ancient telescope he'd seated himself in front of, even from the sound of the heavy door crashing to the ground. If what he saw was accurate, they'd have to act soon.

"Thanatos, is something bothering you?" Mercury asked, leaning upon the old telescope. The cold surface of the metal seeped into her glove, along with the dirt, to show the shine the telescope once had. She brushed her hand off and tapped his shoulder when he didn't seem to hear her.

"Yes, something is bothering me. Remember that thing we mentioned we were going to investigate?" He asked her, still not looking up.

She nodded. "What about it?"

Finally looking up, he turned to her. "When we first spotted it from Pluto's telescope a short week ago, it was headed this way. It's a ship."

"An alien spacecraft?" She asked, and he moved so she could see.

"It's a planetary immigration vessel. A ship approximately the size of your moon." he adjusted the telescope for the ship's movement so she could observe it.

The ship was indeed large. Seven orb-like pieces of land each covered with domed glass and held together by a metallic web was moving at a rather fast pace. She watched as it just passed Jupiter.

"So what's the problem? Will it attack Earth?" She looked up from the telescope to the white mask on his face.

"No, but it seems to be out of control. Noah and I can sense thousands of living beings on board... in fear of their lives." he explained.

"Do you know why?" She asked, confused.

"Yes. The ship's heading straight for the sun."

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Well! Where'd that come from? I hope you really enjoyed this one. The Journey may not be as long as one might hope, but I'm going to try and suppliment quantity with quality. If you don't know what the ship is, I'll let you all know at the beginning of the next chapter I release. See you next time! 


	44. The Journey: Chapter 2

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade production

Author's Note: How's everybody doing today? At the moment I'm in between classes at college, so work on this is sparse at best.

If you're reading this, it means that I've finally finished chapter 1 of book 2. That chapter was nearly done in late april 2003. Now it's the beginning of August, and it's finally posted. What took me so long? College, plain and simple. Expect it to get in the way of future chapters, as well.

For those I promised explaining the ship to, I changed my mind. Read the story. If you still can't figure it out, I'll explain it later. I promise this time. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both, and you wouldn't be reading this right now. Thanatos, Ares, and Chronos are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Journey, Chapter 2

"I don't want to seem cold, but they're not really our problem." Ares blurted out from his comforting chair, staring out from overtop clenched hands, still boiling from the name he was called: kidnapper. Uranus had a look on her face that made her appear to want to lift him by his red dreadlocked hair and get him moving. Nobody deserved being tossed into the sun, except maybe him for letting them go to their deaths. "If they fly into the sun, it's their own fool fault for not..." he stopped in mid-sentence, staring out into nothing, then suddenly stood, the chair falling backwards from the action. "War... there's been war on the ship!"

"Precisely." Noah spoke, looking away from his woven tapestry for the first time since the others arrived, though his hands were still busy working. "There is a rather large problem too. My previous physical incarnation knows about that ship. It, along with three hundred and ninety-nine others, fled the Algo solar system a thousand years ago when I sent word that their planet, Parma, would be destroyed. The billions of threads of the people on board the other ships have been clipped... there's three, perhaps four ships left. This is one of them."

"So maybe the Profound Darkness' monsters have been sending the ships into destruction?" Jupiter interjected.

"There's a good probability, yes. But there's a larger problem than just some gremlins in the machinery." Mars said with her eyes closed, as focused on the sensation as Ares was. "Can you sense it? There's a terrible darkness plaguing the ship. It's like the one I felt at the temple."

Ares nodded. "We might have found our Dark Force's body. Either that, or maybe Zio's been hiding out there."

"Whatever the case, there's a lot of people on board. Is there anything we can do from here?" Mercury asked Thanatos, standing near the telescope they discovered the ship in.

Thanatos simply cycled through the frequencies on his arm's communicator, trying to find the signal they might use. "Algolian vessel. You are travelling at an unsafe trajectory towards the star of this solar system. Acknowledge."

Silence.

"Algolian vessel, respond." he tried again.

"Is someone out there...? Thank God! This is Aerone, city of pilots of the Alisa III! The ships controls are locked out, and we can't stop! There are monsters and cyborgs everywhere, but neither the Orakians or the Layans are controlling them! Can you do anything to help us?"

Thanatos stopped for a moment to think. 'Orakians? Layans? Where have I heard those names before...?' but dismissed the thought and continued: "Calm down. These cyborgs, are they doing any damage to the ship? Perhaps something important was severed?"

"No! The android Siren, once Orakio's general, caused the shift. We need to find Siren in order to override the lock! The cyborgs and monsters have been attacking the people instead of each other! It's not safe to travel between domes, or even out of our cities!"

"All right. Our sensors have detected a malicious lifeform on board your vessel, similar to one we just encountered on our world." he lied, knowing full well they had to make some excuse for coming aboard. "This thing may be causing the uprising between your peoples. Can you confirm?" Thanatos spoke calmly into the small console.

"Yes, of course! We had believed it myth for some time, but the Layan/Orakian war was supposedly stemmed from an evil creature on our ship called Dark Force. According to our legends, Orakio himself sealed it in a temple buried beneath the ocean in dome one, south of Landen town."

"Very well. Where is Landen?"

"Landen is the name of dome one, but Landen town in the upper areas of the dome. We'll keep attempting to break the code lock on the controls! Thank you for any help you may give! Aerone out."

Thanatos bent the bit of metal that was sticking up from his hand back into place and stood, turning his head to notice the two blond scouts and their advisors. "I'm afraid we'll have to forego training for the time being. Hopefully whatever malicious thoughts you have for us can be put aside until we can solve this crisis." he said, eyeing the cats, though none could see if he was really looking at them. He tapped the communicator on his arm again. "Pilot, are you charging?"

-"No sir, I was monitoring the transmissions. I've already warmed up the ark. Ready to leave when you are."- the female voice came through the comm.

"Very good. We'll be down shortly." he clicked his communicator off.

Ares checked the clasps on his armor and looked sidelong at the senshi from the doorway. "If you don't want to accompany us, you don't have to. Our words are genuine. If you will not join us at all, Chronos will return you to the surface of Earth. If you're coming, the time is now."

Thanatos glided over near Ares and whispered to him. "You can sense that creature as well as I can. That's a twice reincarnated first-gen Dark Force. There's no way the girls can take something that powerful alone. What a way to start training them, eh?"

Ares shushed him when the girls started coming forward. Ami seemed either unable or unwilling to refuse Thanatos now. Twice he'd saved her life, and the lives of her fellow senshi. The friendship he spoke of held strongly upon trust, and she feared breaking it by not helping him.

Rei's trust in Ares was similar, since she'd kept in contact with him for so long, even if only spiritually. He was their guide and guardian, allowing them knowledge of their enemy and the future through her fire divination. The battle would have been much harder, or even impossible, without his help. The others began following suit, but still the cats stopped them.

"Sailor Moon... Sailor Venus... girls... you can't just go out to some strange spaceship! This has to be an illusion! A trick to take you away! These aren't our affairs!" Luna said, trying to talk sense into her charges.

"Luna, wake up!" Uranus shouted, stepping forward, along with the other outers. "This is more than just an outside affair. We're not going to wait around until this Profound Darkness lands on our doorstep like we did with Galaxia! Mamoru-san's out of the fight until we can find the Dark Force that poisoned him. The planet's defenses are shot... you knew that when Galaxia came. We had assistance from four additional senshi from beyond, and yet we still nearly lost everything! If these guys are right, and the profound darkness gets free, then it's more powerful than a million sailor senshi combined, and we'd be wiped off the planet as easily as the rest of its inhabitants!"

Luna was shaken. They had to be under some kind of control. Creatures from outside the solar system were asking their assistance, and even the outers were agreeing to help! It was sheer madness!

"If we're able to destroy the Dark Force that poisoned Mamoru, we'll have him back in the fight, and that includes the golden crystal's power to aid in the fight." Ami pointed out to them. "Besides, they're only going to keep coming this way. The battles we've been fighting are only the first wave of warriors that have been sent here. We've seen them get stronger at each interval, but our powers haven't increased since Nehelenia came. Even in our time of need, when Galaxia arrived, only Sailor Moon had become more powerful. Now another wave is coming, and we're not going to be able to stop it."

"...and we're certainly not going to stay here and stop it for you. What would that be that you called it...? Oh yes. 'Outside interference'." Ares growled, quoting Luna. "We're doing this for your protection, as well as that of what's left of the universe's creatures of light. C'mon, T. We'll take care of this ourselves, if they won't help. Maybe Galaxia's reincarnated form will be more cooperative when we get back to Algo." he glared at the cats, and any of the girls that hadn't stepped forward. "Chronos will take you back down. Enjoy your peace while it lasts. We'll be too busy fighting on the mainlines to help you on the homefront."

"Ares-" Thanatos began, but was promptly cut off.

"No! I won't listen to this shit anymore!" Ares' semi-calm demeanor snapped. "I've been watching your progress the whole time, Thanatos. I KNOW how often they've questioned your motives, and frankly, I don't know how you deal with it! If they're not coming," he pointed at the girls, steam rising from his even further-reddening skin. "Then SCREW THEM for being short-sighted!" Ares spat at the feet of the cats, and the saliva bubbled and ate away at the stone. With that, he promptly stormed through the archway, to what could only be the way to the ark.

Thanatos simply sighed, turning to the senshi with a defeated look that could only be seen through the expression of his eyes. "You'll have to forgive Ares. He can be rather impatient, and he irritates easily. He is, naturally, the youngest of the four of us. I ask that you try not to rile him up. You had him close to boiling." he gestured to the melted stone where Ares spat, which was still sizzling, but cooling. Luna's paw had been there a moment before, and it was still raised in shock. "I ask that you join us in this mission. We can indeed handle it, but unless you are well prepared for the inevitable, this universe will suffer a horrible fate, not to mention your own planet." he turned to the tapestry, where Noah still sat stiffly. "Not going to join us, Noah?"

Noah didn't even look away from the loom, as though some drastic change might occur while he shifted his vision. "I can hardly leave my work anymore, brother. Not only should we remain to stop any of the darkness that may invade while you're gone, but there's also an interesting tangle relating to this ship, and I will need Chronos' help to discern it. It may be of benefit to our cause."

"What kind of problem is it?" Mercury asked, stepping over to the patterned threads. She loved a good puzzle.

"Well, it's somewhat hard to explain, but... here, let me emphasize this way." he took out a thick string and suspended it, vertically taut. He then unravelled the string into two, then those two into four threads.

/ \  
/ \  
/\ \  
/ \ / \

"These four threads represent different 'shifts' in reality. The split is where the shift occurs. Each thread represents the spirits of the universe. In each of these realities, a subtle change has taken place. In this one..." he points to the starting thread, where all are intertwined. "Prince Rhys has the choice of marrying two women, Maia and Lena. In one reality, he would marry Maia, in another, Lena. The secondary threads represent the reality of both, and both of their children, Nial and Ayn. Our reality is closer related to Ayn's reality. With Ayn, he also had the choice of two women, Thea and Sari. Our reality is that where he chose Sari."

"So what's the problem?" She asked, not getting what bothered him so.

"The problem, is that the reality which is in no way close to ours, that of Nial, where his son was Aron, intersects with this one. The reality of that ship shunts into our own across and back in time. There are two sets of nearly-similar threads in our reality. There are two of this ship."

"Does this other ship still exist?"

"The threads of those on that ship died out long ago. If it's still functioning, there's nobody on board."

"So what does it matter? Somehow they shifted into our universe, but they're long gone. The damage, if there was any, is already done. What could be so horrible?"

"What could be so horrible? Don't you recall the ship that's nearby? There is a Dark Force aboard. A powerful one. Personally, I'd rather not face two of the same one, and if it's a thousand years older, it may have evolved into a more invincible creature. I'd like to do battle with as few of those things as necessary. It's one more dark creature that's loose in the solar system, and that I can't track."

"You can't track them?"

"Not in the same way I would track normal spirits. The Dark Force, while a lifeform, is a creature without a soul, quite literally. If it had one, I'd be able to trace its thread, and Thanatos would have little trouble reaping its soul from its host body, rendering the creature lifeless. It lives in a type of 'symbiotic separation' from its creator, our mother. Picture the Dark Force as a small extention of her. She controls her separated parts, but if you destroy them, she doesn't die or become wounded, she simply loses control of that part until she can re-energize it upon the weakening of the seal. Though I assume she becomes quite frustrated without the ability to manipulate outside of her prison. That's why I believe the first place she'll go once she escapes is here. You've decimated every bit of evil sent your way. Now, instead of throwing things at your planet and having them deflected, she's going to attack your planet straight on. After that, all forms of universal carnage may break loose."

"So she's not interested in energy, crystals, anything?"

"Energy was only needed since her own power couldn't fuel her parts through the dimensional gateway unless it was currently open. That's why your opponents have been getting stronger lately: the gateway will be opening soon, and her energy is beginning to flow outward. She was already very weak simply from being put in there, and that dimension supresses her power, though she's been able to build it with the time inside to heal. The crystals are her bane. Each crystal of a sailor senshi is a tiny fragment of our father, the Great Light, and each represents a part of him. Mercury's, for example, represents his intelligence and patience, and his drive to learn. Mars' represents his temper and anger, but also his spirituality. Venus', quite obviously, represents his love of all things, and their binding to him. Jupiter's relates to his naturalism and ferocity, as well as control. Uranus' relates to speed and determination, Pluto to mysteriousness and perception, Neptune to tranquility and peacefulness, and Saturn to fear, as well as his fear of destruction. Prince Endymion's crystal lastly, relates to his life, heart, and power. You found Galaxia's as that of his 'hope'."

"What about me?" Sailor Moon asked expectantly.

Still he didn't look from the tapestry of woven threads. "Your crystal is more than just a fragment of his personality. You literally hold a large piece of his physical form. More specifically, his eye." he stated, as though it were the most obvious answer. "...I'm afraid we have something to apologize for, too. You see, though we disagreed with Galaxia's methods, we believed that if she COULD succeed in gathering all his star crystals, and if I were to stop the energy flow of creation until all his crystals were gathered to be thrown into the cauldron all at once, then restart the energy flow, our father could be restored, and the side of good would again be prepared for the battle against darkness, including the senshi which were active, yet had no star crystals. However, when we learned that Chaos had possessed Galaxia's form, it was all I could do to prevent Thanatos and Ares from coming down and butchering Galaxia for destroying the lot of you. In fact, we are somewhat at fault for the Sailor Wars as well."

"Hold up. You knew about Galaxia, and didn't try to stop her? You started the Sailor Wars? What's WRONG with you four!" Jupiter shouted, grabbing Noah's shoulder, and forcibly turning him away from his work to face them, grabbing his collar and lifting him from his seat.

What surprised her was the sheer height the man held. He didn't appear all that tall when sitting, but in trying to lift him, she barely got him off his feet. He stared at the hands holding the bunched area of the front of his cape. His face was calm, but his glare towards Jupiter held a fury that could match that of the sun. "I suggest you let go of me. The techniques I've been perfecting are quite similar to each of your own. I don't believe you wish me to release void energies like Saturn, do you?" her determination to turn his face into hamburger faltered, and she released his cape, setting him back on his feet.

"I'm sorry, but I don't take threats lightly." he spoke, brushing his clothing straight and continuing. "Allow me to explain, and you'll understand: we inadvertantly caused the war. When my brothers tried to defend your realm from the ensuing carnage during the Silver Millennium, Ares' physical form was destroyed. Our abilities continue if we're destroyed without much dilemma, normally... but because of the Silver Crystal's effects, Ares' control over universal warfare was lost. Without the knowledge of warfare backing the minds of armies and leaders, it was simply the 'strongest' that came out on top. You see, once the Starlights teamed together, the three of them were able to hurt Galaxia. Were their entire planet organized, she might have stood no chance. You yourselves also could have defeated her, but your disunification remained between the inners and outers. And even still, you would not fight alongside your new allies. Ares was only coming around to know his destiny during that time, and to recover his memories. Thankfully he was not at full strength when he saw Sailor Mars killed for a second time, otherwise we would not have been able to stop him."

"That can't be true. I know he's been helping us this whole time, but you said he just woke up two years ago?" Mars inquired, now fully confused.

"What helped you was his spiritual form, which was gaining strength over the years. You were very closely linked to him, and even death could not separate you from him for long." he returned his gaze to his work. "Go. They await your arrival on the ship. I know none of you wish to leave us now, even you two from the musk-cat subspecies."

"What did you call us?" Artemis asked and moved away from Luna, who didn't much like his attitude toward them. The senshi took this opportunity, while the cats were distracted, to follow Thanatos toward the ark.

"Musk-cats. You're a slightly more advanced species than they, however. I encountered the first one while in my third physical form, fighting alongside Alis Landale. She'd rescued the creature, having bought it from a man who planned to make a fortune. Much like you, the feline had incredible intelligence and reasoning, as well as the ability to speak our language. These may have been the first guardians of the Lunarii, since they bear powerful energies of light, as well as the ability to transform. This one was very long-lived due to strange circumstances. He may even still be alive to this day. I know you two will wish to meet him."

Through the archway, the senshi heard the voice of Noah tell of the cat-like species diminishing, as they made their way toward the ark. An awkward silence passed as Thanatos floated along, following behind Ares who still stormed along angrily, when he suddenly stopped. "I just realized, it probably would be better if you girls weren't transformed when we touch down. I'm not sure of this culture, but they may not understand why you're in mini-skirts... or why you have wings." he indicated to Sailor Moon, who promptly willed her transformation away, as did the others. "We'll probably need to find you some suitable disguises while down there. Once on board, we shall determine what type of weaponry you can use to train with." he turned about and headed towards another arch at the end of the hall.

"Weaponry? I think our powers will do just fine, thank you." Rei disagreed.

"Yes, weaponry. You've seen the power that Zio has. If your energies fail against him, what other offense will you have? That's not to mention what other horrors are on this ship." Thanatos argued.

"Besides, most of you have some skill in weaponry already. It's time to work with that once again. Your skill with the bow is obviously your best, since you even use it with your powers." Ares further pushed the point back.

"But why is weaponry necessary? Sure, we can use whatever training we can get, but once we get tired from using the weapon, our powers work better anyhow!" Rei got in Ares' face, close enough to feel the smouldering heat he radiated. She hated how full of himself these four seemed, and how they seemed to look down upon the scouts. She certainly wasn't going to just follow orders like a good soldier.

"...and those powers drain you. I know that as well as any of you. This is not a simple one-monster battle, which you've become accustomed to. You may or may not be facing hordes, and we've seen your track record in those moments. In THOSE instances, powers that can strike more than one, and at range, ARE preferable. But I also happen to know that if you're too close, some of your powers aren't as effective, are aimed badly, or may even harm you." Thanatos' tone was final once again. Mars couldn't seem to counter the comment, as badly as she wanted to. "We're here."

Passing through the archway, they found themselves atop the castle itself, where a spacecraft stretched across the roof and far off into the distance. Calling it an 'Ark' was quite appropriate, as it looked to fit two of every creature in the galaxy, much less the planet. Thanatos' real hand came forth, and he removed his glove, placing his hand in a domed console. The console gave an affirming chirp and the doorway folded outward into a ramp. As he and the others entered, he spoke:

"This is 'Destiny', the craft we've been travelling in for well over a thousand years. Ares had managed to hide it underground during the war of the Silver Millennium as a contingency plan to possibly gather the royalty and escape... needless to say it didn't happen. Certainly, Ares and I could have just teleported throughout space over decent distances, but constant exposure to a non-physical plane weakens the physical body, and we'd basically be travelling as spirits. Once at our destination, we'd have to wait until our physical body was suitably regrown, and take hold of it. This often required more time than we wished, especially if our physical body was destroyed in the process. Our physical forms take several generations of even the Lunarii race to mature, and that's more time than we care to spend. Anyhow, the ship was designed for all-purpose travel between physical planes, and allows for a long-standing survival, and physical training, as well as war capabilities..." Thanatos eyed Ares as they entered what must have been the bridge, as Ares sat in one of the chairs, an impatient look in his eyes, a red aura surrounding him as he burned with excitement.

One other lone person sat in the room, more accurately, at the controls. What appeared to be a short girl with long green hair handled the controls, but pieces of metal stuck from the sides of her face, and it appeared that no skin was visible aside from her face.

"Pilot, we're ready to depart. Make for dome number one, upper area."

"Aye, sir." she said, unblinking. The ship shuddered slightly upon liftoff, but otherwise it moved smoothly.

"Who's that? More family?"

"Actually, she's a planetary maintenance droid named 'Demi'. She's from the system of our destination, and would probably be put on the darkness' hit list if they wanted to destroy another planet. That's why she's with us, piloting the ship. Our War-Wren unit was needed elsewhere, and a technical mind is required to pilot the ship, so she was built."

"A pleasure to meet all of you." she smiled while looking back to them, her metallic fingers never ceasing in their unknown task of typing at the controls. "Once we return to Algo, I hope to return to duty, sir."

"Let's hope it's safe to do so." Thanatos nodded, heading to another console himself, typing at a much slower rate than Demi.

Ares, satisfied they were on their way, herded the scouts off to a weapons cache behind a nearby panel, which he promptly removed. "Now then," Ares began. "It's time to get you situated with weaponry. Each of you have some skill with weapons, so feel free to choose amongst our cache here, with whatever you may feel comfortable with.

As Ares moved aside, the inners shuffled about the dangerous tools uneasily, one by one picking up one of them to examine or take a practice swing. Rei pulled down what looked like a compound hunting bow made of a strange, flexible metal.

"Interesting choice, Reianna. That-"

"Ares, I know you mean well, but stop calling me that. I'm not the girl you might have known." she tested the tensile strength of the bow carefully.

"So you say. But you were quite skilled with the bow even in your previous life. What I meant by your choice being interesting, was that bow belonged to Queen Laya of Venus, and was said to have been one of the weapons that-"

"Ares." Thanatos said warningly.

"...of course. I don't mean to talk your head off, Rei-san." he lied. There were some things the girls would have to find out on their own. Makoto seemed to be mulling over some of the heavier weapons, like a hanging sword and axe. Moving to her instead, he encouraged her. "If I might make a suggestion...?" Ares offered.

"Please." she nodded to the taller man.

"Your hand-to-hand skills are impressive whether transformed or not, but so is your strength. Why not try this?" Ares gestured to two large, menacing, arm-like pieces of machinery, with bladed 'fingertips'. "Just slide your arms into them."

She tried one on, sliding the machine up to her shoulder, but she failed to be able to lift her arm while inside the mechanical gauntlet. "I don't think I'm strong enough."

"Oh, you are. Put the other one on." he insisted. Slipping her arm into the other, he lifted something attached to the shoulder over her head and it settled like a backpack, her 'new' arms making an audible click. "Try it now."

She hefted again and almost toppled over, as the arms became surprisingly light. She flexed her hand and the 'fingers' at the ends flexed as well. "These are usually for the mechanical citizens that were built for agility, but I modified them for human use. As long as you've got the muscle, you can control them as though they were your real arms. Specially designed to be used for almost any kind of close-combat."

Lifting down a medium sized sword, Minako strapped it to her side. "If it's all the same Ares, I prefer my love chain. It doesn't take that much energy to use, but I'll still take a sword." He nodded, satisfied that she was at least going to play along. Then he noticed Ami was looking rather unsure of choosing any of them.

"Mizuno-san, I realize you do not have much in the way of weapons training, and you do not wish to harm any creature, but you may be able to use this." he pulled down an icy-blue staff. "Your people used these when keeping the peace, as your ice energies can be channeled through it, if need be. Perhaps it was your people's desire to preserve life instead of destroying it."

He turned to the outers. "You all have weapons that are sufficient for the time being. Even you, Michiru-san, can reflect magical abilities back at their caster with your mirror, but if you prefer, we can give you a small crossbow or daggers if you prefer to fight in close combat." he pulled down what looked like a gun of some sort, but with needle-like bolts loaded around it like an armband. She considered for a moment, and pulled two small knives into a belt, and took the crossbow as well.

"Hotaru-chan, please be careful when swinging your glaive. Haruka-san, your sword should do fine, but try not to use your power unless aiming low or straight. Your energy could slice open the dome, and the area could depressurize. Setsuna-san, I dare not tell you what you need to do. Chronos has taught you well enough. Lady Serenity, that sword you hold wields considerable power. I suggest you use it."

Usagi poked Ares' shoulder lightly, since he seemed to have forgotten her yet again. "What about me? Will my tier be okay to use?"

Ares didn't face her, but rather rustled through the weapons cache, coming up with a faintly luminescent item. "Your tier is decent for power, but as Galaxia showed you, it won't do much to help against close-range attacks. How about this?" he handed her what looked like a glowing throwing knife, but it unfolded in her hand to look rather like a metallic boomerang. "That is the Lune slasher. It belonged to your uncle in the Silver Millennium. The very first skill you seemed to have upon awakening in this time was the ability to throw your tiara. Treat this weapon the same way."

"My uncle?" she looked at the boomerang, never having thought of anyone other than her mother regarding family.

"Now approaching dome number one, upper quadrant. Coming to a full stop." the voice of the 'pilot' spoke aloud, and seemed to echo throughout the speakers around the ship. "All passengers, please head for the transport station. Transport will take place in two minutes."

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Man, I hate to leave it there, but this was getting far too long and explanative. The book is a few months behind schedule, and I plan to catch up soon. Thanks to all my readers for their reviews and critiques. Hopefully chapter 3 won't take nearly as long. Until next time! 


	45. The Journey: Chapter 3

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade Production

Author's note: Well, the second chapter hasn't even posted up yet, but I'm gonna start this regardless! For those of you trying to skip ahead, QUIT IT! This story moves agonizingly slow for a REASON. You. Yes you, with the diet coke. No, not you. You. That's right, I'm talking to you. This applies to you also. You're not special. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We are all part of the same compost heap. We are the all-singing, all-dancing, crap of the world. You are not your bank account. You are not the clothes you wear. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your bowel cancer. You are not your 'Grande Latte'. You are not the car you drive. You are NOT your fucking khakis. You have to realize that someday you will die. Until you know that, you are usele...shot

Oww...thanks. I was doing my fight club rant in the middle of the college computer lab in the library...;

Anyhow, chapter 3 is now underway. This third book isn't really essential, but it helps to build character and plot.

News Update: I've taken on a new job, and it, along with college, other works of fanfiction (don't bother looking, I haven't posted any of it), and my love life (now lack thereof), has hampered my writing of EotM. This piece of work has been sitting 2/3 complete for years. I started this chapter in late Summer of 2003. It's now the end of summer of 2005, and I'm JUST NOW trying to finish. For those that do read, I'm truly sorry.

Eventually, I'll have some artwork links I'll put up on ASMR or a private site. Spork and Shadow Lady have been kind enough to donate their own artwork, and I'm expecting some from Yami Kelly, as well. My thanks to you all!

That's right, Kelleh, I'm talking to you. Two years now!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both, and you wouldn't be reading this right now. Thanatos, Ares, and Chronos are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Journey, Chapter 3:

Somewhere over the edge...

A tiny lone black figure eased into the corridors' portal, hoping perhaps to gain insight on his fate. He was loyal, but he didn't entirely trust the power he was given. It didn't matter if he snuck into the portal, as it made a quite audible sound when in use. Sound was something that never seemed to end, once started in this place. A near-endless void that somehow had walls reflected such noise just as near-endlessly. Sliding down the portal, he bowed before the black writhing mass that resided in the dimension's largest opening.

'Report, Zio.' a voice ensnared his thoughts, obviously that of his queen. He thought it more formal and respectful to greet her in person with his reports, rather than have her strain to speak through the void.

"The initial stages have begun, my queen. I have dispatched your Dark Force to the support sattelite, Kuran. As we speak, he is corrupting the network, and fouling the system's environmental capabilities, as well as planet Motavia's current bio-system. Your secondary Dark Force has established the Garubek Tower in the far northeast of planet Dezolis, to encourage an endless blizzard, as well as create a focal point for the black wave to spread maliciously. Within a few months, if planet Dezolis' people don't succumb to the black wave, they will be completely buried or frozen in snow and ice. Planet Motavia's atmospheric and plate systems will 'malfunction', creating quicksand, earthquakes, storms, floods, drought, and burned or drowned crops."

"Not only that," he continued. "...the bio-system will breed harmful monsters to attack the cities and people. With the planetary control android 'Demi' missing, and my fort built atop planetary control to guard it, the planet will shake itself apart, and the resulting explosion will collide with Dezolis and shatter it, if timed correctly. All that will remain is the Star, which I fear there is no way to remove at this time. But I'm certain you can handle that, my queen. No one will stand in your way when you come forth. Unfortunately, Rykros is still not within our reach. The Great Light hid it well, whatever it is. The Parmanians, the Motavians, the Dezolisians, none of them know where it is hidden or even what it is. Only the entity that calls himself 'Lutz' might even have an inkling of where or what it may be, and I haven't located him yet."

'This news is satisfactory, Zio. Do not worry yourself about Rykros or the Lutz as of yet. They will be dealt with in due time. Is there anything more?'

Zio began to tug at the collar of his armor, as if he had some unexpected news. "I've implemented my own little touch that I wished to report. That is, if you don't mind..."

He could almost see a sinister smile form in the blackness, but it soon warped away. Perhaps a trick of her writhing mass' movement. 'Go on.' he heard.

"I thought it might be easier if I 'recruit' some people to aid our effort. Not directly. Just some mindless followers. Soldiers to wipe the planet of useless cities, people that follow too blindly to care that they kill their fellow man. This is not just to speed up the process, but to eliminate any competition. Eventually members of the Hunters guild will find me as the source of their problems. I fear that after my encounter with those warriors on planet Earth, your gift of power and immortality is not as great as I hoped, and Iagchkh-!"

Zio hung suspended in the air, his throat growing thinner, and his limbs pointed in all directions, growing longer, threatening to rip free from their sockets.

"It's not wise to question the Profound Darkness' power, Zio." a booming voice came from his right. Monstrous curved horns protruded from an old, worn helmet, his clothing a tattered emperor's garb. He edged and slunk toward Zio in a hideously slow shuffle, a malicious grin painted on his features, below sunken red orbs. His hand was held up, and Zio watched the ancient emperor La Shiec from his suspended position.

Then it hit him. 'The queen isn't hurting me... HE is!'

La Shiec was the sorry kind of immortal you hear of in ancient stories, where a man is granted his wish to be immortal, yet does not consider the complications of the wish. He was a being as ancient as the first Dark Force; twice as tall as any normal man since he never truly 'died', but old age never really set in, and well-built. Yet despite all his muscles, he seemed almost unable to move normally. Perhaps his physical abilities had atrophied over the last two-thousand years, but certainly not his magic.

"You knew as well as I did that your death can be wrought by any creature more powerful than yourself. It was your own cockiness that got you in trouble on your last mission. What say you, my queen? Shall I terminate this insect and send down someone more qualified?"

Suddenly the emperor's smile turned to that of shock, and he dropped Zio, gripping the horns of his helmet and screaming in torment, the cries of pain echoing slightly in the shapeless chamber. The helmet felt like it was crushing his skull, and that his blood was boiling. Zio hit the 'floor' and landed on his side with a clank of armor, surprised there was mass to crash upon. Struggling for breath, he listened to his queen.

'You presume to question my judgement and abilities, La Shiec? Perhaps I should ruin your body and let you rot in this prison for ANOTHER thousand years!' Lashiec's mind screamed to explode to avoid any more pain, but his body refused.

"Please, my queen! I meant no disrespect! I meant only to send someone capable of handling those who stand in your way!"

'Like you? Spare me, La Shiec. The only reason I keep you around was because of that stupid deal I made with you two millennia ago. You had your chance to eliminate the beings of this solar system. Zio, your plan is approved. Make it as colorful as you like, but do not lose sight of your mission! Leave now!'

Zio bowed and dematerialized, La Shiec's screams echoing behind him in his teleport. He didn't want to feel her wrath when she was done with him.

"My queen, why do you put up with them?" two voices overlapped, foul yellow and chestnut orbs glowing in the blackness, staring at the tortured former emperor.

'Because of our deal. He is bound to me. As long as I exist, his spirit will not die, and his body will regrow... eventually. I don't like it, but I gave anything to get free in the beginning. Now I know better.' the profound darkness told the small creature hidden in the darkness. 'And what have I told you about sneaking around in the bodies of my minions? You know better, Chaos.'

A sharp tinge of white appeared in what little light there was to form a smile, wavy auburn hair billowed above and behind the curvaceous female form that stepped from the inky blackness, garbed in a deep purple gown. "Do you like this one? She had such potential before she was decimated on that planet I visited. Especially when she absorbed the raw power of your Dark Force into her own body. Any ordinary false-immortal would have self-destructed from the overload. What did you call this one?"

'Beryl.' and with that, many round, red facets appeared on the shapless mass, as if staring at the Chaos-possessed creature below her. 'I suppose she does suit you. Granted, Galaxia was a much better host, power-wise. But Beryl's potential is indeed great. I suppose the protectors were the Great Light's version of my Dark Force... his ultimate creation.'

Chaos could hear the distaste in her creator's voice-thoughts, and gave her a quizzical look. "This creature is a protector?"

'Not quite. I was referring to the one that destroyed her. Beryl was one of our... combinations. There was a flaw in her generation, and she somehow ended up with a misbalance of genes. While similar to protectors, and about as powerful, she is for all intents and purposes very much human. Much like Nehelenia.'

Beryl/Chaos eyed the still-screaming form of the emperor, who was huddled in a ball, spasming now and again. "I don't presume to ask when you'll be done torturing him, but can you at least make him mute? Beryl's ears seem more powerful, and if you were not speaking into my mind, I fear I wouldn't hear you." At her comment, La Shiec's screams ceased, and he only shuddered on the 'floor'. "Are you going to ground him? Send him to his room?"

Something strange emitted from the Profound Darkness at that comment. Something not heard, even by her own recogniscance, for several thousand years.

Laughter.

'I think I'll do just that! La Shiec! You are hereby banished to your air castle. May you find the solitude... enlightening. When I call you again, you had better be ready!' With that, his form disintigrated.

"My queen, there is one last order of business. When I was tapping these bodies, four of them vanished. They've disappeared now and again, rarely, but have always come back. They haven't returned for some time."

A snort was heard somewhere in the room. 'The generals. Let them go. They still serve their prince, even in death. I'm not surprised in the least. After all, they're human. Those four will mean little in the grand scheme... the dead can help no one. Even if they were still alive, their powers pale in comparison to my minions.'

"Very well. What news of your children?"

'I have sent them a gift. Something to slow them down, so that I may be free again. Won't they be surprised...' How she loved manipulating time. So easily she could affect anything that happened after her imprisonment. While Chronos was not seen, she knew he'd be involved, as well as Noah, and that meant she had to confuse all four. Not an easy task, but nonetheless within her power. 'Even if they make it here in time, they will only serve to aid my release. Noah will find Rykros for me, and my minions will take it from him. Without Rykros, none of their protectors can face me safely.'

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Meanwhile, hidden within the confines of the ark, the one-time prince of Earth stirred in his rest. Chronos had strained hard with the fabric of time to keep him alive. Halting it would cost Mamoru his life, because stopping time would mean stopping his heart. Reversing it to save the prince would give the darkness within the prince's body the ability to claim power over Chronos' abilities through paradox, and would also kill the Prince anyway. Only slowing its effects to a crawl would help, and though that didn't hurt him, maintaining it for extended periods had certainly made him uncomfortable. Thankfully, Chronos had found a way to revert Mamoru's wound and maintain the infection, to not influence evil-induced paradox. Mamoru was now breathing on his own, his lung restored, but his breathing was laboured, as though his girlfriend were sitting on his chest.

Mamoru's eyes popped open. "Usa-ko!" He sat up suddenly, then howled and grimaced as every nerve in his body caught fire, his head slapping against the comforting pillow once more, the impact increasing the effects of the already-present migraine.

"How are you feeling today, Prince Endymion?" Chronos asked, having been freed of his duty of tending to the prince, for the most part. Instead of letting him answer, he held out his hand and shook his head. "Never mind, I know already. I've gathered from your reaction that you're in pain whenever you're moving."

Mamoru shot him a hate-filled glare for not warning him sooner, but the feeling passed. Chronos wouldn't figure that he would wake when he did.

"The infection of the black wave still courses through your veins. The reason you are in such pain is because of the infection, as well as the fact that I had to remove earth's Golden crystal from your body." Chronos explained. Mamoru went wide-eyed, as if to get up any moment and snatch it back, but Chronos stilled him. "Do not panic. It's behind your head. I had to remove it so that the evil energies did not afflict the crystal as well. It's not supposed to be in your possession, anyway. As long as it's free and untainted, your reincarnation is still guaranteed. It's currently trying to recycle your energy through your body, Elysion, and Earth to filter the evil. It's not reducing it, but it's keeping the black wave's path within you at a near-standstill, as well as reduce a good deal of the pain. It can keep up the effort far longer than I can. I have contacted Helios, and he's currently attempting to help the crystal recycle some more of the dark energy into the planet to ease your suffering."

Mamoru opened his mouth and spoke hoarsely. He had to know. "The girls... are they all right?"

Chronos nodded. "My brothers have assisted them. They are training them at this moment, I hope. The one that poisoned you is being hunted by Noah, while the others deal with the current scare. Once they deal with him, you will be fit to aid them once more."

He struggled to sit up, propping himself against his hands, which were drawn behind his back. He waited for the pain to pass, once again feeling the warm glow of his crystal behind him. "What is it that's so horrible within me?"

Chronos' eyes shifted down and then away, as though he were unsure of how to answer. "It's difficult to describe... the black wave is a kind of spiritual mutation. It's force is generated by strong animosity, spite, hatred, anger, vengeance, virtually any negative emotion that has power. This is combined from the host which releases it, with a type of energy that has a radioactive signature. It's unclear as to why, but this radiation negates nearly all forms of treatment, absorbs life-energy..." he hesitated, knowing the last part wouldn't be pleasant to hear. "...and eventually kills the body it inhabits. Also, if your crystal weren't saved, it would have negated your reinc-"

Mamoru wouldn't hear any more, and raised his arm, wincing from the effort, to still Chronos' words. "So if they find him, and defeat him, I'll be all right?" he found his voice was returning, albeit slowly.

Chronos nodded, turning his gaze back to his one-time friend and pupil. "Yes, but not just him. The entity of evil that struck you down from above must also be eliminated." he sighed and removed a long-broken timepiece from the tuxedo's coat. "I'm surprised you managed to find this antique. I hardly expected you to recover it in your new life. I suppose such gifts are indeed powered by the soul." he seemed satisfied with its condition, despite its broken glass, and gave it a simple tap. The watch glowed for a moment, and settled back to normal, a soft, pleasant ticking eminating from its core.

Mamoru's eyes followed as Chronos apparently fixed the watch. What purpose did fixing it serve? His eyes lidded heavily, and the effort of holding himself up in such condition was taking its toll.

"Rest, Endymion. Conserve your strength. All will be revealed... in time."

When Mamoru's eyes had settled shut to rest once more, Chronos wound the watch forth and back, trying to settle on a specific time. He reached in the tuxedo once more and procured a pouch from its interior, drawing out four familiar rare stones from its confines.

"You four have aided him in his time of need. Now is definitely a time of need. Father, grant me the gift of Thanatos' power, that I might turn back time to restore the souls that are bound to these gemstones..."

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The path to the transport station was lead by their two hosts, Thanatos floating as Ares tromped along.

"We're going to get to meet aliens, you guys! I wonder what they're like? Do they speak our language?"

Heading for the exit of the transport, a collective groan could be heard amongst the inners. "They spoke our language on the intercom, Usagi-chan. I don't see why they wouldn't. Besides, aren't we all aliens, in our own way?" Makoto explained, then looked up to her leader and friend. "How're you holding up? With knowing Mamoru-san's condition, you've been pretty up and about recently, a lot like you used to be."

Usagi looked down a bit, staring at the bladed boomerang she was given as a weapon and spinning it around on her finger absently. Something to focus on. "I realize there isn't much I can do, except try to fight for him. I wouldn't dare use my crystal to take the infection out of him. He hates it when I endanger my life for his. Plus, I don't even know if it would work."

"Perhaps we should separate you from the crystal. I imagine father's physical essence is trying to bond with the one using it, so one of us could handle it. It has also been a cause of strife in your kingdom, and that which your enemies have sought." Ares explained. He made to press the matter further, but Thanatos elbowed him in the stitch section of the armor near his ribs.

"No, Ares." Thanatos floated in front of him, impeding his movement further out of the ship. If they took too long, the transport system would have to reconfigure for a different location. "Father's pieces drifted to their kind for a reason. Far be it from us to be like their enemies, and try to take it from them."

"It endangers her life, being bound to her!" Ares shot back, grabbing Thanatos' cloak and pushing his spectral form aside, moving for the transport once more. "Sure, it amplifies her energies to Father's level, but it drains her too quickly! You saw what it did to her mother! If one of us could handle it along with the rest of you backing that one up, we could-"

The curve of Thanatos' scythe arced around Ares' throat, and the tip dug into the wall by the door, bringing the red soldier to a halt. "I said NO, Ares! Curb your lust for power! You're letting the darkness overcome you!"

Ares bared his teeth and almost growled, pulling himself away from the deadly curve of the blade and grabbed Thanatos' tattered cloak, but soon settled down, releasing his brother. "...my apologies, to all of you. I have not-yet mastered dominion over my darker half. My physical body is still rather new."

"As long as you know your enemies when the time comes, that's all I ask." Thanatos said, removing the scythe from their path.

The senshi had fallen back a bit, talking amongst themselves carefully and quietly. "Are you guys getting the feeling that they're still not telling us everything?" Haruka asked.

"Kind of. They don't even seem altogether on each other's side, despite the fact that they say they trust each other. Ares is unstable, Chronos seems detached from the others, Noah just seems cold and nasty, and too focused on his work to be helpful... heck, only Thanatos seems open to us, and it feels like even he's keeping us in the dark." Michiru confirmed, clasping the hand of the sandy blond who'd asked. The others either took no notice, or didn't particularly care.

"Uncle Chronos is just sad." Lady Serenity explained. "He doesn't interact with a lot of people, except for Setsuna-san and myself."

"He only talks about his brothers." Setsuna added. "Since he hasn't returned since his leave during the Silver Millennium, then this is probably the first time they've seen each other in a long time."

"Thanatos feels responsible. Maybe he's trying to protect us from something?" Ami said in defense of him.

"Maybe. We don't know anything about Noah yet, but we can keep an eye on Ares. Rei-chan, you know him pretty well, spiritually. Maybe, if he's just having trouble, you can help him out?"

"I should. I have this feeling that I owe him... even if he is being a jerk."

"You very well might. Remember, hardly any of us remember our..." she stopped, realizing the idea that popped into her head. '...could that be what they're hiding yet?' Ami suddenly stepped ahead of the group. "Thanatos?"

"What is it, Ami-san?" Thanatos turned about.

"Well, I'd like to remember more about our past... we all would, really. Each of us have tiny snippets that come to us, but I think it's important that we know what happened in our past lives."

Thanatos turned forward once more to face the door. "...I can assist in both your memories and some of young Hotaru-san's, if she wishes. Ares may for Rei-san, but the rest of you would require the assistance of Chronos and Noah. Ares and I can only help you remember what we were there to witness ourselves, but Chronos and Noah can delve back to that period, to make you relive it."

"So, why didn't you help unlock them outright?" Makoto pressed.

"Your memories are not simply behind locked doors that we have keys to. It requires a combination of stimulants to make the tumblers fall in place so they might be released. Atop that, they're painful. Ami-san, Hotaru-san, and myself all share a special bond that allows us to interact via the dreamscape. I was aware of the both of you being reborn, and I tried to awaken Ami-san's memories, but I was unable to really find you all. That's why I needed to go down as Samuru, my mortal guise. I needed to find you in your natural bodies, and your transformed ones. The Silver Crystal's judgement was kind to restore you to the forms we remember. Chronos was not totally aware of what we were up to, that's why he didn't tell you, Setsuna-san." he replied.

He continued, realizing his mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry, I never answered your question... atop simply not being able to snap our fingers and make you remember, we wanted to know if you were going to help us or not, first. There would be no need to do so if you didn't want to join us. If and when you decided to do so, we would unlock them during the journey to further your training, considering you had a bit of battle training and mental discipline then. It would speed up your training process considerably."

"I think our memories are important! If we didn't help, you were just going to keep them from us?" Minako put her hands on her hips, rather annoyed by the whole ordeal herself. Why didn't she or Makoto have any guys from the past coming for them?

"I only say it was unnecessary to unlock your memories because they can be painful. You aren't really meant to remember your past lives, but father's crystal skipped your recycled reincarnation and forced you to live once more. Each of you have three personalities, but only the moon princess can achieve all three at the moment. Normal form, Senshi form, and royal form. The royal form is what you would need to achieve to be granted the bulk of your memories." Thanatos explained, willing away his ghostly form to his mortal guise, the cloak shrinking and pulling into the purple orb atop his cane, and turned about to move for the door. No need to scare the ones they're trying to help, after all.

Ami moved after him quickly, trying to keep up with his strides. "Samuru-san, if you can release my memories, if you can do it at all, then help me release some of them now!" she said, catching up and pulling at his shoulder to turn him around.

It was all he needed.

Whirling around, he caught his arm about her waist and lifted her off her feet, spinning her about in a circle, his lips pressed against hers in a steamy kiss.

Shock was the most prominent emotion in her eyes, and the girls behind them could only share Ami's look. He withdrew and set her back down, a rather satisfied smile on his face. "So, did that kick-start anything familiar?"

She continued to stare into space in shock, her cheeks and soon her whole face lighting up bright red. Her arm came about with an open hand, and a resounding slap echoed in the small hallway. Ares winced, as did the others, and Ami's shocked look became one of confusion, her normal clothing glowing and elongating, settling back down to an elegant blue dress.

"The forest..."

Sam rubbed the angry red hand print on his cheek, but he nonetheless smiled. "What about it?"

Ami's eyes were glazed and distant as fragments of memories now became whole. "...you taught me the use of my ice abilities... the bubble spray that made the fog... we lost the observer... ran to the forest..." the red in her face diminished, but remained a soft pink in her cheeks. The hand that slapped his face now settled gently on his cheek. "...my first kiss."

"Anything else?"

The remaining blush diminished, as did her smile, and the hand on his cheek slowly slipped away. "Zoicite... the duel... the accusations... my father... I chose... Zoicite attacked..." she stopped and took his metal hand, her eyes regaining their light of awareness. "Your arm! I helped design this! You tried to defend me and lost your arm!"

Thanatos figured the kiss that started it all was long forgotten by her, overwhelmed by the onslaught of memories. He had assumed it would probably happen, but was overall happy that she was rediscovering her lost memories, even if they were no longer hers. He looked to Hotaru to see if she wanted her memories back as well, and she only glared at him.

"Don't even think about it." she positively hissed, acidic venom in her voice. Samuru bit his tongue, trying to fight back a chuckle. The method he just used wouldn't awaken Saturn's princess since he was never romantically involved with her, and she must have thought that a kiss would release the memories. He let it be, and turned back to Ami.

"Oh Samuru-san... I'm so sorry!" she cried suddenly, realizing she slapped the closest thing to a god she ever met. "It was just so sudden of you, and I..." she started to apologize, and he pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"Don't worry about it, Ami-san. Right now we have more important things to deal with. The longer we wait, the more difficult this will become." the red handprint was already fading. "Also, do you want to stay in that form when we meet the people down there?" he asked, while Ares had already started through the door, keying in the sequence to send down the transporter pad to the 'surface'.

"Would that be a good idea, going down in a dress like that?" Lady Serenity asked. Ami pulled at the skirt and flushed, now realizing just 'how' she was dressed in front of him.

"Come to think of it, I'm not sure. Royalty is often viewed by their attire... but I don't think we have enough time to awaken everyone just now."

Ami pulled away from his finger upon her lips and nodded, her clothing changing back to the warmer autumn clothing from before her transformation. Reddish light spilled into the hall from the now-open entrance, the reddish glow of the wide transport making Ares' natural color seem almost normal as everyone else now looked the same. Samuru turned about and walked beside Ares, the girls following silently. This would hopefully be a learning experience for their future as rulers, bringing peace to other peoples. Stepping onto the platform, and ensuring that all of their limbs were inside the red-lined space, Samuru spoke up. "I warn you now, the transport isn't altogether pleasant, but you've suffered much worse fighting the darkness."

The transport system wasn't something they'd used on the ship before, but they 'had' used them in their previous lifetime, so it wasn't all that strange a feeling to fragment and coalesce at another location, even if it did mean for a brief instant, you ceased to exist.

They stepped off the pad onto thin grass and rather solid earth. The ship seemed to be barely maintaining whatever artificial environment it had if the plant life were suffering. Lady Serenity almost squeaked as the transport closed behind her, being the last one to step off, and it shot into the 'sky' of the dome.

"So, where are we, Ares? I don't see a temple." Samuru asked his brother.

"You were the one with the intercom. Didn't you hear him say it was under water?" Ares argued.

"Point taken... and I told you, mortal form. With how red you are, you really DO stick out like a sore thumb."

"Fine, fine..." Ares grumbled, shrinking considerably so he looked younger than the senshi, and discoloring to more of a tanned shade, his dreadlocked hair untangling and jamming itself upward, as though a flame waved atop his head. "I still don't see why we didn't transport right down there." his voice became considerably lighter.

"Always thinking of yourself and how things benefit you. You haven't changed at all." Rei admonished the now-shorter and less-threatening god of war. "Unlike you, we breathe air. Transporting us underwater into a temple would most likely kill us."

"Ahh, that's what I forgot! But we could have just used an atmospheric technique before we transported, and travelled in that."

"Underwater? We'd rise to the top immediately after. You gotta think physics, Ares. Not all solutions can be fixed with big muscles, magic, a weapon, and knowledge of warfare. Besides, I'm not sure spells work through transport devices."

"Right, but that still leaves a problem, Thanatos. What do we do now?"

"Mortal names apply too, damn it all!"

"Fine 'Samuru-san'." Ares growled the name, but was less threatening than usual, probably from the lack of deep gruffness in his voice. "And in that case, call me Bishamon."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? It's not exactly subtle. I think I'll call you Yukio."

"Yukio!" he shouted, his voice cracking, and Rei had to hold back a snicker. "Fine... but Bishamon is my surname, all right?"

"Fine, 'Yukio Bishamon'." Samuru nodded with a chuckle.

"Aww, don't you like your name, Yukio-san?" Usagi teased, and they all laughed, treating him like the little brother he seemed to be.

"Rrrr... Samuru! Answer my question already!" Yukio repeated himself, angry enough to not bother with a suffix. "What do we do now?"

"Why don't we see about getting a ride on that boat over there!" Minako suggested, pointing out the floating ship on the water at a nearby town.

"Well, that would get us over the temple, but just how deep underwater is it?" Makoto asked.

"It's still a start. Let's-" but Rei never finished the thought. Instead her eyes became wide as saucers. "GET DOWN!"

Everyone present hit the dirt, not knowing what to expect, but hearing Rei's scared voice was good enough for them. Looking up from their covered heads, they saw the sea out in the distance boiling, and a beam of black energy blasted skyward, then back down, flying across the countryside radiating pure hatred and anger.

"Well... if that isn't the one Zio had possession of, the one they had trapped down there just got loose." Rei mumbled, getting to her feet once more and dusting herself off. They didn't need her insight to feel the sensation the Dark Force was spreading with its mere presence.

"It couldn't have freed itself on its own, could it?" Setsuna wondered aloud, looking in the direction the energy had travelled.

"Certainly not. Something else was down there." Samuru answered.

"What makes you say that?" Michiru asked.

"Because it's also heading this way." he replied again.

Seeing the two men drawing their weapons, and almost laughing at seeing Yukio draw a sword that was nearly as long as he was, the girls seemed unsure what they should do. "Should we transform, or..."

"They're humanoid." Samuru said after squinting a moment, and putting his rapier back inside his cane. "Stand down. They probably don't even realize what they did."

"I don't even see what you're looking at." Haruka said, trying to shield her eyes from the sun and look out over the water. A speck was in the distance, quickly getting larger. They hurried to a dock near the town with the boat, which seemed to be their destination.

"How many?" Michiru tried getting a look herself, but it was still rather small.

"At least four. Two of them are quite long-lived. One of those two should have been sent to the cauldron long ago, but it remains, and quite solidly."

Hotaru smiled bitterly. "Good for them. At least some people have learned to escape your grasp."

"Hey, look at this cute little thing!" Usagi suddenly spoke up to get the others attention. It would be some time before whatever was over the water would get to the dock. She kneeled down to a stubby yellow bird the size of a basketball, coaxing it closer. An Aardvark-like blue creature also seemed to be accepting the invitation a little too readily, as well as another of the fat birds. One by one the younger girls crouched to examine the approaching animals. "It's so cute!" Usagi picked up the one that had waddled toward her, cuddling it.

"Uh, Tsukino-san? You... you might want to put that down." warned Samuru.

"Oh don't be sill-OW!" Usagi dropped the bird which barely managed to slow its descent by flapping, plopping on the ground. She held a fair sized gash on her arm.

"Warned you." Sam said unsmilingly, and undid his cane to pull out his rapier once more.

"Don't overreact! It just scratched me!" she insisted.

"Thanatos... er, Samuru-san? Just relaAAH!" Minako began, then rolled away from the group covering her face, which was doused with a green liquid. The bluish aardvark was dripping that same liquid from its 'nose'. The other bird, which Rei had been petting, lunged forward and headbutted her when she looked to see why Minako had screamed.

"If you're done making excuses for them attacking you..." Yukio picked up the Aardvark by its scruff and tilted his head to the right as it spit at him as well, the green glob sailing over his shoulder, and punted the bird that scratched Usagi, landing in the distance with a distinct plop, unmoving. Finally, he picked up the other bird that had hit Rei. "...then you'd know that nothing on this ship is going to be friendly except perhaps the people. This here," he lifted the blue creature in hand a bit more, which squealed and thrashed in his grasp. "Is an Eindon. Poisonous creature. The chirpers are almost harmless, but they can still be aggressive."

"P-poisonous?" Minako paled, though it was difficult to see through the layer of slime, which she'd barely managed to wipe off.

"Yep. If you'd listened, you'd know."

"So I'm... I'm going to... to..." Minako looked as though she might faint, staring at the green blobs on her hands.

"Thankfully we're near a town. I'm sure poisoning is common, so they should have an anti-toxin. You'll be fine."

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For those not in a position to understand Ares' mortal names, 'Bishamon' is the Japanese God of War, and 'Yukio' means 'Gets what he wants'. This is an insult, as Ares is very childish sometimes. I'm going to stop the end notes after this unless absolutely necessary. They take up too much creativity. Until next time, this story is TBC. 


	46. The Journey: Chapter 4

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade production

Author's Note: The end notes are no more. The girls have encountered their first alien creatures with disasterous results: Minako is now poisoned. Who knows how the poison will affect the senshi of love? And who let the Dark Force free from being imprisoned in the underwater temple? Credit goes out to GreatLight432, who helped with this chapter quite a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both, and you wouldn't be reading this right now. Thanatos, Ares, and Chronos are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Journey, Chapter 4:

"If some of you would like to go into town with Aino-san, please do so," Samuru put forth. "Yukio-san, go with them in case. I know you all care about each other, but I may need someone here in a moment." he indicated to the rapidly approaching group over the water. "Kino-san, would you assist me? You'll get full use of those arms if we have any trouble."

"Sure, why not?" she smiled, then looked back to the others. "Will she be okay?"

"As long as she stays still, the poison will move slowly in her system. It would take quite a while with someone that has as much energy as she to be really harmed by it." Yukio explained, offering to carry her, and yet another comical moment ensued when Yukio, being somewhat smaller than she, put an arm under her knees and shoulders, and carried her with little difficulty. Samuru was sure that if things kept up, Ares would explode with anger from being laughed at.

Leaving the two behind to the guilty party, Usagi rushed into town, into the closest person she could ask. "Excuse me sir! Please, my friend has been poisoned! Is there a first aid station or a doctor in this town?"

"Damn kids, making up their own language... just leave me alone. Children can't even show respect when we're all going to die." he said depressingly.

Usagi immediately realized the problem of a language barrier, but couldn't figure a way around it. Setsuna, however, came to the rescue.

"Sir, please. My friends do not understand, as we are from a distant place. One of our group has been poisoned and requires assistance. Can you help us?" she asked. Minako groaned in Yukio's arms, the gel still somewhat in her hair.

He didn't seem relieved that they were speaking normally, and seemed to be giving Minako a bewildered stare. "You can go to the healer, or get an antidote kit in the store. I suggest the healer if you're not from here... you may not know how to use the kit." he pointed to two different buildings, the signs on their door easily depicted by images, though not all of them were clear as to their meaning.

After thanking him, they hurried for the healers, and Setsuna explained before anyone decided to hit her with twenty questions. "They're speaking our old language. Very odd. The dialect is somewhat older, but I can understand them all the same."

"Our old language? You mean the Silver Millennium language?" Ami took note. She too could understand thanks to her unlocked memories, but hadn't quite thought of how to speak it herself. She considered a refresher course through Setsuna.

Setsuna nodded. "Unlike each of you, my life never ended from the Silver Millennium. Living in close proximity of the door of time, time itself had little effect on me. I'm glad I remembered it, it may have saved Minako-chan's life."

Helping her through the door they immediately moved to the desk of the healer. "Be calm, children, be calm." the healer smiled, attempting to calm their stricken faces, and hearing the painful moans from their blond teammate. "What has happened, and how may I help?" he asked, crossing the desk.

"Our friend was attacked by an Eindon outside, we think she may be poisoned."

Yukio set Minako down on a small bed, and her friends immediately surrounded her. She reached for their hands shakily. "Usagi-chan... am I going to die? I am, aren't I? It's not fair... I haven't-" she quickly silenced upon seeing the doctor. Now wouldn't be the best time to be blabbing on and on. He seemed to be looking at her directly, and she had to put faith in the fact that he had to know what he was doing if she were going to live. He pulled a small, red, oval-shaped stone from his pocket and placed it on her forehead, staring at her again for a moment, before taking it away.

"You are not from here, are you? I do not recognize her speech."

"No, we are not. Will she be okay?"

"Of course. Was she harmed at all, otherwise?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"What your friend is experiencing is fear, nothing more. If she were harmed it would be a different story, because the poison of the Eindon is an anti-coagulant."

"So she's actually okay?"

"At the moment. Even so..." he encouraged her to sit up, and retreated behind his desk, bringing back a small mug, and a damp cloth. He wiped the green slime from her hands, hair, and face carefully. "Drink this, child." he said, pressing it into the blond's hands, her glazed eyes drifting to the mug.

Minako sipped the strange liquid and blanched. "Eurgh... it's bitter..." she mumbled, then quickly drank it down, squinting and forcing back tears, and finishing with a cough. "Even medicine from other people is bitter... so... will I be okay, Setsuna-san?"

"He believes so. He says you're lucky you weren't hurt as well, or you'd be in larger danger." she turned to the healer, who took the mug back from Minako, and returned with water. Obviously he knew how bad it tasted. "So was that a placebo, to make her believe she'll be okay?"

"No, she is actually poisoned. If she were to be harmed after this, she would not stop bleeding. This will ensure that the effects aren't permanent."

"If I might ask, what was that stone you put on her head?"

"Oh... your friend reminded me of a Layan... more specifically, from images of Laya herself. We Orakians haven't always been on friendly terms with them, but it seems nobody has control of our warriors anymore, so we cannot entirely blame them. It stood to reason that the creatures stopped obeying the Layans, when our own androids and cyborgs stopped obeying as well."

"Oh, I just realized something... She turned away from the doctor. "Yukio-san, how are we paying for this? We don't have any money from here."

He blinked, then pulled out what looked like a calculator, but it was smeared with what looked like blood. He punched a few buttons. "Red Soldier to Lifeweaver, we need someone to forget. We'll never get out of here if we don't." he spoke, though to the girls it sounded more like crow caws. Apparently they had their own language. He explained their situation, and sounds like that of a songbird came out of the communicator. "Done. Let's go."

"Go? But..."

"Noah made him forget. Let's go!" he insisted and began giving them light shoves toward the door, helping Minako from the bed and edging her out the door as well, as the healer sat behind the desk and rummaged through it, pointedly ignoring them.

Once outside, Rei laid into him. "Ares-sama, that was theft! We ripped off a healer! How can you just do something like that?"

"If you haven't noticed, there's a little more at stake here than a doctor's personal finances. This ship is en-route to the sun, remember? If it will make you feel better, we'll pay him once we have the money, okay? And anyway, as much as I prefer my regular name, 'Samuru-san' did insist on using our mortal names. Be thankful also that nobody can understand you other than our group, because who knows how the people of a town like this might tolerate theft."

"Fine. Minako-chan, how are you feeling?" Rei asked, some of the anger leaving her voice.

"Better. Though that medicine was nasty."

"You're a very convincing actor, Minako-chan." Setsuna smiled at her own private joke, and Ami managed to hide her smile. The others didn't bother to ask. "We should let Mako-chan and Samuru-san know that everything's okay."

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Samuru and Makoto sat at the edge of the dock, looking out over the water to the approaching group, only the slight movement of the water could be heard all around. Difficult to believe that this could be a ship.

Makoto broke the silence. "...So, Samuru-san... tell me, was it worth it?"

"...eh?" he obviously either didn't understand the question, or wasn't entirely listening. He looked over to make sure he heard right. "What worth... what?"

She faced him in turn with an arched eyebrow and slight smirk. Her arms were freed from the machine gauntlets that now rest on her back. Her hands straddled her legs on the edge of the dock by her knees. "The kiss you gave Ami-chan. Was it worth the slap?"

"Oh... oh that! Well..." he gave a small smile, looking down to the hands in his lap. "...have you ever been in love, Kino-san?"

"Well yeah. I thought I was, anyway..." her mood slightly darkened at realizing what he asked, and fixed a pointed stare at him. "Is that your intent? Or is this just a fling?"

He shook his head at her reply, and continued to stare pointedly downward. She didn't understand. "Kino-san, please, that's not what I was getting at. I was making a point. Have you ever had to wait for that love?"

Her look softened, seeming to understand what he meant by that. "...No. No, I... I guess I haven't."

"How can I put this, then..." he cupped his hand over his mouth under his nose in thought, then looked up, turning to her. "Could you imagine, then, having loved someone when you were much younger, and then getting the opportunity to see them again today? Would your feelings for that person have disappeared so easily?"

Briefly, Makoto got a flash of her parents when she considered that. Of course her feelings wouldn't have changed. But that was family. She frowned and pursed her lips. "Samuru-san... it's like Rei-chan said. We're not the same women we were in the Silver Millenium. We might look the same, we might even sound the same, but we've grown up in a different environment. I don't want someone forcing Ami-chan to be someone she isn't."

He nodded empathetically, knowing Makoto was genuinely concerned for her friend. "And yet I awoke that part of her today, as she wished... insisted, even. Those feelings we shared would have returned all the same, even if I used a different method to awaken her memories. I made a promise to return for her in this new life, and I do not break my promises. The choice is, of course, ultimately hers. But I did wish to let her know my feelings are still there. So no, it is very far from a 'fling', as you stated."

She blew out a short, slow breath, and finally nodded. "Alright, I just... I don't want to see her hurt. Especially not like I was. If you can promise me that, I won't stand against you. And you're right, she DID ask to have her memories restored..." her smirk reappeared. "Though I have to say, your method was pretty shocking."

"No doubt, but obviously the most effective. The dreams were subtle enough not to be too painful, but weren't getting the job done fast enough... as for being worth it? I've had worse in return for her affection." he returned his gaze to his damaged hand, which Makoto realized he had been working at the whole time, silently.

"I suppose you have..." she muttered, watching him attempt to repair his hand. What looked like a tiny screwdriver was being manipulated inside the slice in his palm. Every few moments, she could see a finger twitch, and she thought back to Ami recovering her memories. "...she mentioned a choice... that happened because of the choice?"

He nodded with a slight grimace, holding the area where the arm met the metal, having probably felt a twinge from the non-functioning arm. "Zoicite's jealousy. I was put on trial because of him. I won out in the end, and Amilia chose me instead of Zoicite, for obvious reasons. Sore loser, that one. First and last time I was ever caught off-guard."

"I see... Zoicite was tricky, I know that much. In any event, you might want to warn her in the future about any... 'impulsive' moves." Makoto couldn't resist teasing.

"Now see here! I'll have you know that acting on impulse is more of Yukio-san's thing than mine." he gave her a false look of being insulted, and she chuckled at the comment. "You try sitting around waiting for centuries hoping to see someone you love again, and resist falling back into old habits. Considering how long I've been around her lately, I'd say I've done a pretty good job... but yes, I'll be more subtle in the future."

She smiled more kindly at that. "Well, if you were willing to suffer all that for her, I think I have all the proof I need."

"That's good to hear. You said you'd stand against me otherwise. That wouldn't be a pretty sight."

"Think I can't stop you?" she grinned, slipping into and lifting a mechanical fist at him.

"Oh, I'm sure you would do your very best. I'm sure your friends would wholly help you as well. And if I were one to be forceful in that respect, I could simply ask Noah to make you accept it. Making Ami-san accept it, however, wouldn't be love, so I couldn't do that. As I said, it ultimately boils down to her choice in the matter, Kino-san."

"C'mon, we're bonding here. Mako-chan is fine. For barely understanding our language at first, you seem to have a pretty good grasp on how love works."

"Love is a language all its own... Mako-chan." he tested the name, still not 100 with it. "Haven't you learned that from Tsukino-san?" he reminded her. She remembered that they mentioned watching them the whole time. "She's used it to bridge gaps of hatred and doubt with your enemies at times. It's known throughout the universe, but as you said, not everyone understands the language."

Something bumped the dock, knocking them out of their conversation, and footsteps followed, along with a heavy mechanical sound. They turned about, not even realizing the ones they were waiting for had passed them by during their talk.

"You two should be careful. Hardly anyone leaves the town anymore. It's not safe out here."

Makoto didn't understand the red-haired young woman, but the language of love seemed to be speaking when she locked eyes with the dusty blond haired young man in the group.

"We were waiting for you, actually. Do you realize what you've done?" Samuru recalled the old language of the Silver Millennium easily enough, and stood from the edge of the dock to approach them.

"Unfortunately, yes. In claiming the black sword of Orakio, we inadvertantly released Dark Force from his confinement." their black-haired companion spoke, a fully-armored man that, upon closer inspection, revealed not to be a man at all.

His face was only painted a fleshy color, as he was wholly metal. A mechanical citizen, a Wren unit. Something Samuru recognized. "You wouldn't be Siren, would you?" he asked honestly.

"No. I am Searren, but I am familiar with Siren. I battled him twenty years previous alongside King Ayn. Are you looking to fight him as well?"

"We are from the solar system nearby. We saw your ship heading for our sun, and we wished to assist. Aerone informed us of the problem, as well as the presence of the entity that was, until a few moments ago, trapped in that temple underwater."

"I apologize for our mistake... in our haste to collect the legendary weapons we were told to retrieve in order to destroy a terrible evil in the dome of Terminus, we hadn't considered the release of Dark Force to actually 'be' that very evil." A blond haired young woman admitted to them, and Samuru pinched his eyes with his free hand, as though to clear them. No, there was no mistake as to who she was. The red gemstone on her forehead was the sign of her lineage.

"Laya." Samuru spoke in the normal language and stood, beckoning Makoto to do the same. "I believe I understand now. Our team is in town, and we need to stop Siren as well as the Dark Force. Its kind are a disease, and we recently dealt with one on our planet. Would you accept our company?"

"We can't protect you all. I don't think it would be a good idea." The dusty-blond haired young man said.

"We need no protection. You refuse us, yet we have the same goals, and you have just inconvenienced us toward defeating the Dark Force. It would only be fair to allow us to accompany you. But before we go further, I suggest we share our names. I am Samuru Sotanaht of Saturn, lord of the sixth planet of this system. This is Makoto Kino of Jupiter, princess of the fifth planet of this system."

"I am prince Crys Ra Siik of Landen. These are my protectors Searren and Mieu, who have protected my family for the past two generations." he gestured to the android and to the young red-haired woman. She hardly looked old enough to protect the current generation, much less the previous two, and for a moment Samuru wondered if she too were an android, only better-built. "You seem familiar with Laya Le Cille, and this is Kara, daughter to Lune." The prince introduced his group. "Why does royalty come to our ship to do the work of the common people?"

"A question I could easily ask of you as well." Samuru retorted.

"Lady Kino cannot speak for herself?" Crys eyed the girl. She didn't seem princess-like at all, at the moment.

"You forget, we are not of your world, and your language is alien to us. I am familiar with your language, as is at least one more of my group."

"My apologies to you both, then." he bowed his head.

"Crys, regardless of this interruption, we still require two more weapons." The bright-green haired girl Kara spoke. Armor spiked from many areas of her outfit.

"Agreed. Lord Sotanaht, we must continue on our quest. I'm afraid we cannot wait for your group to follow."

"There will be no need to wait, sir." Setsuna's voice pierced the air from a few yards away, and the collection of female soldiers in common clothing joined the group.

"Punctual. You travel in strange company, Lord Sotanaht."

"Be glad they don't 'all' understand you, else they might take offense. Each of these young women are princesses of each planet in this system, all part of a galactic alliance called the Silver Millennium. They are also trained warriors in battling monsters like your Dark Force."

"And the young man with them?" Kara watched Yukio amongst the taller girls, who was only slightly taller than Hotaru.

"My little brother, Yukio. Do not be deceived by his small frame. I'd never dare cross him in battle."

"All right Samuru-san, what's going on?" Haruka huffed impatiently. This other language seemed to be leaving them out of the conversation, and it wasn't helping her temper one bit.

"We'll be joining this group here, as they're off to stop Siren, and eventually the Dark Force they released. Prime training for all of you, so that you won't need to depend on your powers." he explained.

"Samuru-san, before we train ourselves for battle, maybe we should train ourselves to communicate better. This may get awkward." Ami insisted.

"Agreed. Perhaps I might borrow some power from Chronos and Noah to at least unlock knowledge of your speech." he turned back to prince Crys. "It's settled. Will you be stopping to rest before you head for the next item? Just where is it?"

"The next item was the claw of Miun... from what my father told me, Miun is an ancient cyborg that roams the desert of Aridia, dome four."

"Apparently its logic circuts are burnt out, as it seems to be waiting for its master Orakio. He's been dead for nearly ten centuries." the Wren unit explained.

"As for stopping, perhaps we can make a brief stop in Hazatak after we retrieve it."

"Then please, lead the way."

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TBC, punx. 


	47. The Journey: Chapter 5

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade production

Author's Note: Well, things are back in delayed form once more. I don't want to move things too quickly along, but at the same time, the chapters are getting increasingly shorter. Perhaps more time on detail and less on movement...

Anyhow, this is the 46th chapter of 'End of the Millennium'. With Minako restored and a team of guides leading them off to defeat Siren and Dark Force, could anything go wrong? Maybe with a language barrier, or jealousy.

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both, and you wouldn't be reading this right now. Thanatos, Ares, and Chronos are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Journey, Chapter 5:

"Ahh, home. My people have been faithful." the energy being known as Dark Force hissed as it arrived at the city of Lashute. Its people had continued to thrive, despite being cut off from the rest of the ship. These were the survivors, the traitors to their kind, those loyal to the darkness. Doorways and portals may have kept the people and monsters from sneaking through, but Dark Force was something else entirely. Physical barriers didn't complicate things until it became physical itself.

"Strange that those fools pulled the sword out to free me. Perhaps I should have rewarded them with a quick death..." it chuckled to itself, finding its human host Rulakir still alive. The man's anger and hatred were like a beacon to the malicious being, a steaming bowl of soup after being in the snow for hours: Refreshing and relaxing. For quite some time, the Dark Force believed it would never be free of its grave since the place it was sealed was also buried several dozen feet below water. For now, it would rest and let the anger and hatred fuel it once more. The people would be unable to wage war again until at least ONE of the escape routes were open. Resigning until that time would come, it sealed itself within pandora's box to regain its strength. They might as well wait for one of those fools that freed it to come looking, and unlock one of the pathways in the process.

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"I can't believe we didn't find her..." Crys mumbled at the Inn of Hazatak. Hazatak was the ONLY town in the desert dome of Aridia, located at the dead center of the dome itself, near the ship's water filtration system, an area where Laya had laid undisturbed in cryogenic stasis for a thousand years. The only humanoids in the town ran the few stores that were there, though who knew how they stayed in business.

"It's a lot of area to roam, Crys. She can't leave Aridia without any of the keystones, and the androids of town are looking for her at this very moment." Laya assured him. Their vast assortment of guests made them feel as though they were babysitting, but quite a few of them seemed to be able to hold their own.

"We'd be moving faster if it were just the five of us." Kara brought up, as though leaving the group of followers would be the best bet to finding the rogue cyborg.

"One would think, but these people have rather surprising skill. If I didn't know better, I would believe they were your people, Laya." Mieu said.

"Why do you say such a thing?"

"Each of these young girls have used abilities like your own, Laya... and some have abilities completely unlike ours. Lord Sotanaht has considerable skill in his gravity techniques. Did you not see both beast and machine collapse upon themselves? And the young boy Yukio, his little brother. Even your mother would be proud to see such a skilled and powerful swordsman in someone of his age, Crys."

"I suppose you have a point." Laya looked over to their guests, who were sitting with Samuru, mostly listening to him talk in the language Laya couldn't comprehend.

"Not just the young boy. Did you see Lady Kino? I thought only cyborgs could handle machine claws like that, but she was tearing whole androids apart with them! And she seemed to like it!"

"Remind you of someone?" Mieu nudged, and he chuckled. His mother loved hand to hand combat, and had instilled battle training as part of his daily education for hours on end as he grew up. Makoto was considerably taller than most of the girls, and had a style of combat that seemed well balanced. Much like his mother.

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"Right then, Yukio-san, could you assist me? We'll need as many people who can speak their language as possible."

"Um, about that..." he looked aside. "I'm... well I'm having a little trouble remembering, myself. Even if I did, I'm not exactly the best teacher, you know."

Samuru groaned. "All right, then who remembers?" he came to a realization. "Ami-san?"

"I can pick up on what they're saying, but how to word myself is still difficult. I think there are still some significant gaps in my memory." she admitted.

"We'll work at that later. Tsukino-san? I know you have a good deal of your memories back..."

"I think I'm in a worse state than Ami-chan. I could only pick out a handful of words."

"Then who asked for help in the town?" he asked, realizing all his options had been extinguished.

"I spoke for them. I still have all my memories."

"Setsuna-san, perfect! Your abilities are better suited to unlocking the others' memories anyhow! We'll try that tonight, as it's easier to manipulate the mind while in the dreamscape."

"You stay out of my head, murderer." Hotaru muttered just loud enough for Samuru to hear.

"Hotaru-chan!" Michiru made to correct her, but Samuru held up his hand to still her words.

"It's all right. As you wish, my lady. I will leave the recovery of your memory up to Setsuna-san, or perhaps Chronos-san when we get back. In the meantime, since Ami-san is fairly close to the memory..." he looked to her. "Then you can understand what I'm saying, correct?"

"Most of it. I'm getting more than the gist of your sentence, and many words make sense, but I can't say I know word for word what you say."

"Funny... not too long ago I was in a similar predicament. For the time being then, perhaps we should complete your understanding of the words before we work on speech."

Minako and Makoto had turned their heads away from the others, since it didn't currently involve their participation. Makoto noticed Minako making eyes, or at least attempting to, at Prince Crys, and that assured her that Minako was feeling better.

"Hey, Mako-chan." Minako whispered. "He's looking our way." she nudged Makoto, who promptly turned to look herself. As soon as she saw him watching them, his smile increased a bit. Friendly, or flirting?

"Minako-chan, I think we should learn to speak the language before we start getting his attention. How do you expect to ask him out, or how he feels?"

"There are other ways. Always other ways of communicating. After that incident of being poisoned, I'm going to live the best way I can, doing whatever I like!" she beamed, looking particularly smug.

Makoto almost laughed. Samuru was right, love was a language all its own, one that Minako apparently knew all too well. "Then I suggest becoming bilingual. I'm definitely going to."

"-so we're going to only teach half of you tonight. We may not even have enough time for that many. Would anyone like to volunteer?"

"I will!" both the blond and brunette girls shouted simultaneously. Apparently they tuned back in just in time.

"Two down... oh..." suddenly realizing one of their guests had no memories to unlock. "I'm afraid we'll have to teach you directly, Lady Serenity."

"That's okay, I guess. I don't think it'll be all that necessary anyhow. I have no reason to speak to them."

"No, you will need to learn it the same as the rest. This language will be the same in Algo, our destination. Perhaps..." he thought for a moment, then turned so their hosts wouldn't see him pull his sleeve back for his communicator, moving to the stairs. "Excuse me ladies. Going to make a call."

Once Samuru was out of earshot, Minako immediately pounced on an unmistakable opportunity. "Soo, Ami-chan!"

"Whoa, whoa Minako-chan! Time out!" Makoto jumped between them, and the rest of the girls snapped to attention. Makoto loved juicy gossip and talking about boys as much as any of them did.

"What's up? Don't tell me you-"

"Just leave it be, Minako-chan. I already had a talk with Samuru-san about it." Makoto interrupted.

"But don't you want to hear what Ami-chan thinks about it?" Usagi somewhat wanted to hear as well.

"Maybe we 'should' let her think about it." Rei took Makoto's side.

"Guys? I'm here too, you know. You shouldn't speak as though I'm not."

The girls looked back and forth between each other, not realizing how rude they were being, and began talking all at once.

"I just didn't want them pestering you-"

"-friends have a right to know-"

"-but her business is HER business-"

"-we're worried for you, Ami-chan." Usagi's message came out the strongest.

Ami looked at her icy staff, which seemed to glow in the dim lighting that came through the window. 'They must want to know how I feel about Samuru-san after that...' she thought of the moment he'd swept her off her feet once more, and the delayed reaction she'd had to it. '...incident.' the blush crept back faintly, and the memories of her past replayed.

'Thanatos seemed to be like an imaginary friend at first, since nobody could see him but me. But he stayed with me all the same, learning alongside me. He seemed to dislike the Silver Millennium... or was that merely him responding in kind? But he always stuck by my side, except for occasions when suitors would come. He was my friend in many ways back then. Did he merely decide to court me to unite his world with ours?'

She stopped her train of thought almost immediately. She wasn't Princess Amilia anymore. She was Ami Mizuno. Instead of ancient memories, she focused on the here and now. 'Samuru-san is definitely interested. He asked me out, I'm sure of that now. He wasn't really writing down anything from our discussion, just sketching me.' she thought to the little notepad he'd dropped. She wasn't sure, though. 'Having someone like him for a boyfriend might be a little difficult. And what would I tell my mother? Is he only interested in me for who I was, not necessarily for who I am?'

Finally she looked up to the group of girls, who had fallen silent, waiting for her answer. "I'm going to think about it for a while. I can't choose just yet."

"Well, did you at least like it?" Minako snuck out, and was promptly pinched for her efforts by Makoto and Rei.

"It was... nice. Surprising, but nice." she blushed.

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"Yes, I know that, Noah. I figured that much on my own when I saw the C-Wren unit and Queen Laya herself." Samuru spoke like a raven over his communicator, laying on the roof as to not attract attention.

"-Just don't be surprised if you see anyone else you know. We don't need to let on to the girls about the...-" Noah's birdsong voice returned, cut off by Samuru.

"I don't like keeping them in the dark. You know we'll have to tell them eventually. If we don't, they'll figure it out anyway. The fact that the people of the ship speak their old language is a dead giveaway."

"-Perhaps. What was it you called for anyway?-"

"You should know."

"-I'm not reading thoughts every blasted second, Thanatos.-"

"Fine. The language spell. I know you had to use it at first to talk to the people in Algo. I won't force these girls to remember all at once. We don't need them comatose for the battle. The death-trauma from their past life might be too much for them to handle, and if I unlock everything, they'll know about the ship anyway."

"-Agreed. So you'd like the spell? You know this won't be pleasant.-"

"Obviously. Let's have it." he braced himself and held tight to the roof so he didn't fall off as Noah manipulated his brother's thread, infusing the necessary knowledge of the spell into his essence. Samuru clutched his head at the pounding jackhammer that brought forth new knowledge. Now he remembered why he liked learning with Amilia. It was much less painful.

"-Done. Don't spend it all in one place, little brother.-" his arm chirped before the connection closed.

"...sometimes I hate being mortal..." he mumbled, crawling to the edge of the roof and waited a moment for the vertigo to stop before dropping to the ground.

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"Aino-san, Mako-chan, would you two come here for a moment?" Samuru smiled, having climbed up the stairs to the second floor of the inn they were resting at. They both sat up from their beds looking to each other, then got up per his request. Rei, Hotaru, and Haruka were keeping an eye on him, the others taking a nap during their cooldown.

"What's up, Samuru-san?" Makoto asked, and Minako wondered when the two had enough time to become friendly enough to use a more familiar form of her name.

"Well, you two volunteered first." he placed hands on both their shoulders, simultaneously casting the language spell. "I want you two to do something, no questions asked."

"Sure thing. What do you need?" Minako asked.

"I'd like you two to strike up a conversation with our hosts." he grinned.

Makoto gave him an uneasy stare. "I'm not sure we-"

"No questions, Mako-chan. Go on."

The two walked away giving questioning glances back to him, but he only smiled in return.

"Do you think he did anything without us knowing?" Minako asked the brunette.

"I don't think so. I don't remember anything else from my past life. What about you?"

"I don't know. I feel like I'm on the verge of something when I see them. Maybe they're our people, reborn as well?"

"Hey, maybe they are! Maybe he unlocked their memories instead or something?" Makoto dropped her fist in her hand, as though the idea made perfect sense.

"That wouldn't help much. It's us who need it to help us speak to them."

Walking up to Crys, who had taken their resting opportunity to clean Orakio's black sword of the grime from a millennium of disuse underwater, Makoto decided to start. "Uh, hello." he looked up at the greeting, then seemed confused when he saw who was speaking. "I guess this is odd, being the first time I'm talking to you..."

"Only a little bit." he replied, putting away the sword.

"Well okay, then-" she stopped when she realized what he said made sense. "Hey, you're speaking our language!"

"Actually, you're speaking ours. That's why I found it a little odd, Lady Kino."

Makoto blinked, never actually being called 'lady' anything. It sounded rather dignified. "I hadn't realized Samuru-san had mentioned my name to you."

"Yes, he had introduced us at the docks earlier. How is it that we understand each other now?"

"I'd like to know myself-" she was promptly interrupted by Minako, who had pounced on the sudden lack of language barrier.

"Hello! I'm Minako Aino. We didn't really get your name, as our translator was in too much of a hurry for introductions."

"Oh, of course! My apologies, Lady Aino. I am Prince Crys Ra Siik of Landen. My protectors, Wren and Mieu," he gestured to the two standing guard nearby, the black haired android brandishing a rifle even now, in a peaceful place. "Lady Kara, the daughter of Lune, who was the war general to Lady Le Cille's elder sister." he gestured to the final two members of his team. Minako's eyes unfocused upon seeing Laya and suddenly held her head, biting back a yelp as memories flowed free throughout her mind of the kind woman she called 'mother', the beauty of Venus that had passed to her daughter: Her. Memories of her past showed no suitors, however, and she had no idea why. "I beg your pardon, Lady Aino, but is everything all right?"

"Yeah... yeah, just a headache. Excuse me." she stepped away, leaving Makoto alone to speak with Crys.

"She'll be okay." Makoto assured him, but didn't seem so assured herself. "I don't mean to be rude if this is your way, but why are you referring to us as 'Lady'?"

He moved over on his bed to let her sit. "Lord Sotanaht explained that you are each the royalty of planets in your system. Was he mistaken?"

Makoto took the offered seat, but held back a frown. Did he introduce them as such because that's how he thought of them, despite their conversation on the dock? "Not entirely. We're the royalty of worlds in name only. Almost all the planets are pretty much uninhabitable thanks to a terrible war caused in part by a Dark Force." she explained, and introduced the others since there hadn't been much time to while in battle, and they had been in such a rush to leave in the first place.

"I see... many kingdoms and people were lost on our ship because of the Dark Force before it was sealed away. I can't believe we foolishly set it loose once again."

"Don't worry. We were able to stop the last one. We can certainly stop this one, with no problem."

"So I've seen. You seem very skilled in combat. Did your parents teach you to be like that?"

Makoto gave a sad smile at that. "No, they passed away a long time ago. I merely learned to fend for myself since nobody thinks women can. I only discovered my power four years ago, so self-defense was always a priority just to show I wouldn't be pushed around."

"You seem to experience a great deal of loss, I apologize for making you relive it. I ask because my own mother made me train daily, and you're quite strong to be wielding cybernetic gauntlets when not cybernetic yourself." he explained, unconsciously examining her sleeveless shoulders to confirm his belief. "It's rather impressive."

"Most guys find it unsettling and a little intimidating to be around a girl that's taller and stronger." she played her card carefully, looking at him with only one eye. "You don't?"

"Of course not. A strong woman is a sign of a good leader, especially so in one of royalty. But I think I understand what you mean. Some men are known to be controlling of women to feel confident in their own strength, but they're truly the weak ones if they have to bully others. I've learned that strength shouldn't be proven unless in necessary situations."

Makoto seemed to think about those words, but her mind was racing. 'He doesn't mind me being stronger or taller, and he's easy to talk to! Should I...?' she thought to ask him if there was someone in his life, when the touch of his hand on her shoulder jolted her from her thoughts.

"You should get some rest. We're going to need it in this desert."

"Y-yeah... yeah, you're right. Thanks for talking with me." she stood, then looked back to him. "Prince Crys, are you seeing anyone?" she blurted out.

"Right now? Well, I see you." he offered.

"What I mean is, are you 'with' someone?" she asked, hardly believing she had the guts to ask again.

"I am with my friends and guardians, and all of your companions, as well as yourself." he gestured to them all around, seemingly bewildered by her questions.

Makoto blinked, then realized her questions were rather vague when such terms weren't understood. "I'm sorry, I'm not wording myself properly... is there... someone you like? Someone you care about?" she wasn't sure if he'd even get that, but if she got any more detailed, she might seem 'too' pushy even for him.

He seemed to think for a moment, then looked up as though he understood what she was asking in the first place. "As of the moment, there may be some. I'm fairly certain you didn't mean family, correct?"

"Yeah." she admitted lamely. "Thank you. Goodnight."

"Sleep well, Lady Kino."

Moving back to her bed, and breathing a sigh of relief, she was then fully intent on finding Samuru to have another little chat with him, but saw that Minako had his attention. He seemed rather focused and unsmiling at what she was saying, but noticed Makoto's approach and the dark look on his face vanished. "You two seemed to be getting along well."

"What the heck did you do?" she vented at him.

"A translation spell. Rather simple and not too flashy, but I hadn't known it until I left earlier." he explained calmly, sure that she wasn't as angry as she was trying to express. Boy he was wrong.

"So did you do that so we wouldn't have to remember our past lives, or was it because of our conversation earlier? And on that note, why did you tell Crys-san we were royalty?"

"Because you still are, whether physically or not. As for not having you remember, I believe that's rather a moot point."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Mako-chan..." Minako was still holding her head, and Makoto began wondering if something was still wrong with her friend after all, but she could see a faint smile behind her headache. "...their blonde haired teammate, Lady Le Cille... Laya-san... she was the queen of Venus. My mom."

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TBC. ; 


	48. The Journey: Chapter 6

End of the Millennium A Xian Shade production

Author's Note: I was going to make a comment about the chapters not taking as long as I thought, but then I got hung up on this one. I doubt people read these, so I'll make it brief. Venus is now aware that one of their companions is family from the Silver Millennium, but just what did Noah and Thanatos mean in their discussion? I'll be taking a different route for writing, so let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Sailor Moon or Phantasy Star. If I did, this would be an anime, or manga, or both, and you wouldn't be reading this right now. Thanatos, Ares, and Chronos are © Xian Shade and may not be used without my permission. People failing to follow this rule have broken Xian's Law #849, paragraph 3, line 2: Don't fuck with my shit.

The Journey, Chapter 6:

-I've never felt a need to chronicle our time before this, but as our lives have now become severely more complicated, I feel it's time to write some of this down. Documenting and researching never hurt!-

-This is Ami Mizuno, 18 years old, Senior in high school, also known as Sailor Mercury. If this were ever found on Earth we'd probably be in big trouble, but I'm sure I'll delete this long before we return, as it will have served its purpose, and nobody has access to the mercury computer anyway.-

-Now then, where to begin? I suppose it all started with the message. The message warned us (albeit a bit too late) about the resurrecting and approaching darkness. At least, that's what I had taken it to be, once I had translated it: merely a message that had arrived too late. But the fact that the message stated the darkness would continue to resurface, to warn us not to get comfortable, it put into perspective how much we had laxed in our defense.-

-The meetings we'd go to nightly in our early teens to work against the darkness had diminished to simple meeting of friends and study groups. Eventually, those meetings even deteriorated to once a week, and we'd begun drifting apart a bit. Training had all but disappeared. Luna and Artemis were the only ones who seemed to keep on-track, but I suppose with little else to occupy their time as cats, activities that were familiar probably seemed better.-

-This message let us in on the fact that either we were being watched, or the enemies would come again, and soon. Unfortunately, after the message arrived, the nightmares began. I believed them to merely be worries over nothing, but after too many sleepless nights, Rei attempted to help, and once the girls were back together, we learned there was more going on than we knew.-

-While they were generally vague, my newly awakened memories have brought the nightmare to light. I can now confirm that the nightmares of my death were no mere nightmares, but the death of my past self, Princess Amilia. The nightmares may have been an indirect cause of Thanatos' manipulation of my mind in my sleep, but for some reason unable to make me surpass it. Perhaps he never got over her death, either.-

-Well, I suppose I should explain him. Thanatos appears to be a creature vaguely documented throughout mythology and even in real history during the twelfth century as the grim reaper, the angel of death. Many a tale describes him as a horrid creature, neither living nor dead, but all define him as evil; a grotesque creature of darkness that steals the lives and souls from living beings. In actuality he's not a terrible creature at all. He's kind, well-mannered, he cares about people and things just as we do, and with all the death that happens every day, I've never once seen him leave to claim souls, nor killed anything other than those that attacked him. While he admits to being of darkness' descent, he is in no way evil, as far as we've seen, and as far as my memories of the past go. He's saved my life... all our lives more than once, and the others seem to at least somewhat trust him, aside from Hotaru. Apparently she has some vague memories also awakened, and somehow she may know something about him that the rest of us don't. She's expressed hatred, rage, even called him 'murderer' recently. Hotaru has never expressed these negative emotions to anyone while she wasn't under the power of Mistress Nine, so I begin to wonder if her memories are truer than my own. It leaves me in doubt of my new friend.-

-Apparently he and his brothers are guardians, claiming to represent things that are required to occur in order for life to exist. Guardians of 'what', I don't yet know. Ares seems to be the youngest and most unstable of the four, recently letting his dark heritage take control of his mind before he was reminded of it. Bishamon, the surname he's taken for his mortal form, is accurate in the title of 'God of War', and in fact, 'Ares' was the name of the greek god of war as well. War needs to be balanced and well thought-out, and with him acting unstable, it's no wonder the battles in the last millennium have been such a massacre.-

-Chronos seems more than stable, but as of right now, we know little. He claims to be caring for Mamoru-san, who was injured in our last battle, and seems to have some ties to Setsuna-san and Elysion, and even Lady Serenity speaks of him as though family, or a friend of the family. Apparently Pluto serves him by guarding the time gates, which seems contradictory to her service to the Silver Millennium, and even to Crystal Tokyo. Perhaps I can ask her about him later.-

-Noah. Something about him just strikes me as odd. Perhaps its the way he acts around us, or the fact that he takes his work so seriously. He barely moves, hardly looks away from his orb of threads, and speaks like things don't matter. The only time we've seen him away from his work was when he was visiting the temple with Samuru-san. He and Chronos seem to take after a light nature, though with how the enemy has confused us in the past, who knows whether Luna is right, and we're just walking into an intricate trap.-

-This is the first time I've seen Luna and Artemis not united in their observations. While these guardians did imprison the two cats, Artemis appears to believe and trust them. Even if we have been somehow controlled and coerced into helping (or going to our doom, as Luna thinks), the cats cannot be manipulated in the same way that humans can. And though Noah states he would not simply change us all to make us trust them, they seem very literal-termed in their words and ways of thinking, and may have manipulated one or two of us. The fact that the outer planet senshi are also joining us in this seems to enforce this fact, even if Hotaru's attitude doesn't.-

-The fights, distrust, and alliance have brought us to an alien craft heading for the sun. While Luna would use that as an excuse not to trust the guardians, the people on board are all afraid they're going to die. Apparently, these 'gods' are not as omnipotent as we'd like to believe... or perhaps they don't wish to be, for the sake of our training. A group of people on board seem to be trying to avert the disaster as well as defeat a source of darkness. A young man, three women, and what appears to be some sort of robot, all of whom have magic like ours! For now, we're travelling companions, and both Minako-chan and Mako-chan are already flirting with the young man. Those two think they're clever, but I know them too well to miss their thoughts drifting from a subject they find boring. Study groups have proven this time and again.-

-Speaking of romantic interest, this brings me to an odd situation. Samuru Sotanaht. Samuru-san is the mortal form of Thanatos, but I also have memories of him from the Silver Millennium as both friend and... I don't think I could use the term 'lover', but we certainly held mutual interest for each other back then, if these memories aren't altered at all, or even falsified. He seems to be showing that same interest in me now, but our past selves aren't our present selves. Usagi-chan may have accepted this in that she always believed in the fairytale prince coming to rescue her (and Mamoru-san has certainly done that on numerous occasions) but I've begun to wonder if it's merely past-life infatuation. I told the girls I'd have to think about it after... God, I still can't believe he kissed me just like that, in front of everyone! If his feelings are genuine for 'me' and not just Amilia, then he's going to need to learn subtlety.-

-For now, we're just having a rest before heading back out into the desert to find a cyborg that apparently has a powerful weapon they're looking for. Samuru-san was discussing restoring our memories and teaching Lady Serenity our old language to be able to properly converse, but he's taking an odd approach as earlier he had Minako-chan and Mako-chan try to talk with our guests. Minako-chan left soon after, but Mako-chan seems to have picked up on it, as she and the young man in the group seem to be talking at great lengths.-

-What also seems odd, is that they're speaking our old language. If that's the case, I can only hazard a guess that unless our old language was common throughout the universe, these people (as well as the people of our destination) are somehow related to our past selves. Noah's puzzle begs the question, that if there were 'two' of this ship, one a thousand years older, could there be some connection to the Silver Millennium if this ship made the same trek a thousand years before? I'll leave it here until next time. Perhaps some questions will be answered soon. I just hope our trust in these four guardians isn't misplaced.-

Ami closed her mini-computer as she finished the log, watching Makoto striding over to Samuru and Minako, a rather determined look as she approached. She continued to watch, unable to hear what they were saying, but Minako's interruption seemed to change Makoto's accusing stance. She almost felt herself nod off watching them speak, but then saw them heading for their respective beds. Ami gestured to Makoto to come over and let her in on the conversation.

"So, what's the verdict, Mako-chan?"

"Not sure just yet. It's pretty confusing to say the least."

"Then what was all that about?" she gestured to the discussion she'd been having with both Samuru and Crys.

"Samuru-san and I spoke earlier about you, and his intentions. I wanted to be sure he wasn't trying to change you into someone you're not. But now he seems reluctant to release our memories at all, I think."

"Why do you say that? He was releasing more of my memories every time I went to sleep, before."

"Maybe so, but earlier he was talking about releasing them. Both Minako-chan and I agreed to try first, but instead he went and found another way for us to communicate."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't want to release our memories. He did that to teach Lady Serenity, probably, and wanted to test it."

"Maybe, but you didn't see the look on his face when Minako-chan told him she had awakened some of her memories on her own."

Ami started at the information about Minako. "What did she remember?"

"There's more to this ship than we know. Their blond haired companion, Laya-san? She was her mother."

"Is she sure? It couldn't just be someone that looked like her? I... wow." Ami asked, but even as she did, her eyes drifted to Laya Le Cille. No, her own memories couldn't be lying to her. "Nevermind, I can see that it's no coincidence. That's Venus' queen."

"So do you think some of the people on this ship are other family members, just reborn?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Noah told me that there were two of this ship, and one came to our system around the time of the Silver Millennium. I think it's kind of odd that Venus' Queen would reappear at the time both ships existed, actually BEING on at least one, don't you?"

"Maybe, but does any of this seem familiar to you? The town, the domes we've went through, the monsters we've fought, anything?"

"No..." Ami looked aside to her closed mini-computer. None of that seemed familiar. "But why are they supposedly speaking our old language?"

"I don't know. We should ask these 'guardians' later."

"So what did he have to say?" Ami asked, curious of their host.

"Who, Crys-san? Well, we started talking about a few things. What bothers me is that Samuru-san introduced us as our past selves, princesses of our planets. I just don't know which way he's thinking."

"What did you talk about?" Ami noted that Makoto had dodged the question. "You were over there a while."

"Er... I told him what I remembered about the war that brought us to Earth in this time, and how Metallia ruined our planets. He started asking a few personal questions, and I did the same." she indicated the subject was a little uncomfortable, and tried changing the subject again. "We should rest, Ami-chan. I don't think they'll keep us on this ship if they can't save it, but we should be in shape to do our best."

Ami nodded after she realized her eyelids felt rather heavy. The day had certainly been long, and sleep never seemed so welcome, but she felt rather odd at not having studied 'any', even if it was still Saturday... or was it Sunday now? When Makoto stepped off to her bed, Ami simply laid there, noticing that neither Samuru nor Yukio had stayed to rest in their beds. One quick sweep of the room with her eyes confirmed neither were there anymore. It was the last thing she remembered before nodding off.

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"Again!"

Makoto watched a smaller version of herself hit the ground a moment before, picking herself up and getting back into a battle stance. The scene was oddly gray, devoid of color completely, as well as other people. It seemed these two were alone. Two, since the voice she heard a moment ago certainly didn't belong to the small one.

"You're getting better, but that's not going to be good enough, Juno!" she heard the deeper voice once more, this time spotting a woman off to the left, looking very much like herself except a few years older, with a permanent scowl on her face, a steel breastplate with matching shoulder-guards, and two knives thankfully tucked away on each side of her waist on the leather jumpsuit she wore. The woman looked like a soldier.

"When? When will it be good enough?" the smaller one named Juno shouted, lunging at the older woman with a fist that was easily avoided, then delivering a sweep that was just as easily jumped.

"When I say so! We don't want some weakling defeating you and earning the crown! If Jupiter's future queen isn't strong enough to defeat her subjects, she's not strong enough to defend them! And if you can't at least give me a reason to stop holding back, then you have much further still!" she raised a backhand to swat the small girl away.

However, it seemed that small motivational speech gave her the incentive she needed. Falling back flat to avoid the strike, her legs came behind the older woman's knees, knocking her on her backside. Juno flipped back to her feet, launching her elbow into the woman's unprotected stomach. It knocked the breath slightly out of her, but not nearly enough as her forearm struck the girl's throat, the woman rolling atop her with the arm against her neck. She was completely pinned, defenseless, and unable to breathe. Finally the arm relented, and the girl gasped heavily.

"Much better. That's enough for today." the woman nodded to Juno stiffly as she helped her up, and a tiny smirk cracked through the scowl. "Though you managed to catch me off-guard knocking out my knees, you should know better than to open your legs like that. Not very becoming of a lady, much less a princess."

"Like you said, if I can't defeat my subjects, I can't defend them. Sometimes that requires fighting like boys do. If you had a choice between modesty and victory, which would you choose?"

The woman's eyebrows raised, and the scowling face broke into a rather surprised smile. She ruffled the younger one's hair, which had come undone from its ponytail. "That's my girl."

Makoto watched the two wander to the door, when a voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Your mother, Queen Sari, was a tough but honorable woman. A good deal of your childhood was spent like this, a few hours every day, training hand to hand and even with knives like she had, though I'm not entirely sure you had her dexterity."

She turned to the voice of Chronos, who glowed faintly and seemed ghostly and transparent, while Thanatos remained as solid and dark as ever. "So Ami's had memories like this brought back?"

"Sort of. Usually her memories were focused, to portray a necessary point I was trying to make, such as our friendship. However, I've never had to do this through Chronos, to be able to sort dreams from memories, so this one just popped out at random."

"So, what happened? Did someone eventually beat me?"

Thanatos turned to Chronos, who simply shook his head with closed eyes, black bangs sliding back and forth under his gray hood. "You grew into a fine warrior like your mother, and it wasn't long before you were able to match her move for move. Your father had already begun teaching you thunder and lightning skills, and you'd learned them moderately well before he passed away, so you had that much more over her. Those abilities had made you so formidable, that none were able to beat you... at least from your own planet. For a while I'd thought Ares might come to your world to accept the challenge, but he could not abandon his post as champion to choose Mars' successor... besides, this occurred during the incident between Zoicite and Thanatos, and when word spread of possible retaliation, Earth had sent one more of their generals to attempt uniting Earth with the Silver Millennium."

Makoto seemed to think for a moment, then looked to the intruders in her memories. "Show me the last battle I had before the fight for the Silver Millennium."

The embodiments of Time and Death looked to one another for a moment. "Why do you wish to see that moment?"

"It probably shows me at my best. The fight against Metallia used abilities as Sailor Jupiter. I want to see my abilities while still princess Juno."

They looked to each other once more, and Chronos shrugged, as though the two were having some internal conversation. Finally, Chronos pulled out an odd looking hourglass with the sand unmoving, but then drained out to mostly empty. A stronger glow eminated from Chronos at that moment, which he seemed to feed into Thanatos with a touch. The spectre of death gestured his hand to one side, and the room fuzzed out of focus and into a more brightly lit one, this time in color. Queen Sari sat upon the throne, an older princess Juno at her side dressed in a similarly armored jumpsuit as her mother, with the exception that her jumpsuit was a mossy green instead of earthy brown, and the shoulder guards were missing. A kneeling man in a gray military uniform was some twenty paces away from the throne, flanked by two amazonian guards.

"Well, lord Nephrite. You are absolutely certain you wish to proceed with this? A man with his head in the stars really has no place trying to court my daughter." Queen Sari spoke from the throne over folded hands, looking slightly less like Makoto now that more years had passed, and time had worn away at her. The king was nowhere to be seen, so Makoto assumed he had already passed away.

"I am, your majesty." he opened fair blue eyes to them. "I needn't hide the reasons I'm here, either. I'm sure you already know."

"Word indeed spreads quickly. We hold no love for our neighbor Saturn or its people, and though the laws of the Silver Millennium do indeed allow retaliation between unprotected worlds if attacked, we cannot protect Earth unless it is also part of the alliance, unless of course Saturn decides to attack the Moon Kingdom as well. As-yet, Saturn has not made a move to mount its troops for an assault, according to Mars' reports."

"All the more reason to gain a defensive advantage before they begin their assault. Our prince has gained the favor of Queen Serenity and their princess, but in the event their courtship goes awry, or in case they attack before their princess makes her choice, I would like to protect my people, as well as the Moon Kingdom. I may not particularly like Zoicite's tactics, but going after him would mean attacking the castle, and then we'd have all-out war."

"I understand your reasons, but remember that should you succeed, even though our worlds would be brought together from the union, you would not be able to return to your world ever again. You would no longer be Earth's General, but Jupiter's King. Do you understand?"

"I do."

"Very well. Your trial shall take place in two Earth Days' time. I suggest preparing yourself."

As the scene changed, Makoto spoke up. "Whoah, whoah, time out! Was this guy Nephrite one of Beryl's generals?"

The scene drifted to what looked like a collussium and froze over to grayscale as Thanatos spoke. "He was. From what our records of the battle state in the time we were absent these past few years, he was the second general in power before you arrived to join your friends. Apparently he had reformed, and turned against Beryl... but a bit too late to save his life."

"I doubt Usagi-chan would try to kill him, so I'm guessing his own group had him killed?"

"In your current lifetime, yes. I suggest asking your friends sometime about the battles before you joined. The early days can sometimes be better to remember. Shall we continue?"

She nodded, and the scene gained color and life once more. She could almost feel the vibration of the hundreds of spectators' chants for the approaching battle.

"The challenger of Earth, Lord Nephrite!" shouted the voice of the Queen of Jupiter as she watched Nephrite walk out in the sand-filled arena. Immediately there were louder shouts from the spectators that rang in her ears, though she wasn't able to tell if they were cheering him on or not. He wore the same outfit as the day he arrived. "Today, he has come to challenge my daughter, princess Juno to combat, for right of royalty!" Makoto then watched her past self stride onto the field, tall, commanding, and looking rather angry about something. "The rules are the same as always, no powers unless the other lets them loose first! The first to get knocked out or leaves the arena loses!"

"What's wrong with me...? Er, I mean, her?" Makoto asked, unsure of her previous self. 'Do I really look that scary when I'm angry?' she thought.

"She took her title quite seriously. I'm sure she wasn't happy to be defending the crown from one more person that wasn't trying to be with her. Lofty stories of love and dashing princes from your fellow princesses never quite lived up the same way on Jupiter, and I'm fairly certain she tried to beat those morals into the challenger." Chronos explained, neither guardian bothering to stop the dream this time as the two fighters clashed with each other. Makoto watched in utter fascination as her former self lunged at him with numerous swings and strikes as the battle was hand to hand, but he was a little 'too' nimble for a normal human. It had nothing to do with the gravity of Jupiter either, as his hand-movements when he would attack also looked sped up. There were times when his movements even became a blur when his gloved knuckles just barely grazed princess Juno's cheek, and she looked to the guardians again.

"Trust me, it's not me doing that. According to your old memories, he really was moving that fast." Chronos assured her. "He may have had some magical augmentation before the fight that wouldn't be picked up, like a 'ner' technique."

"So he was cheating." she guessed, watching the fight once more, giving a whoop as her past self made a connecting elblow strike to his jaw, but hadn't stunned him long enough to continue the assault. Chronos continued all the same.

"Technically yes, he was cheating, though you would have had the advantage anyway since Jupiter's gravity is much greater. But they weren't able to pick it up since he didn't cast it during the fight, so they couldn't prove anything, nor would they stop the fight just to check."

The two fighters had hold of each other's hands, her past self held an angry snarl while Nephrite merely grinned... or was he gritting his teeth? "Go on, let me win." they heard him speak in a low voice, his legs positioned so she couldn't kick or knee him someplace unpleasant, his wavy hair quaking from the stress of their muscles working for dominance. "We both know you tire of the endless challengers that seek only power. The stars have told me so. At least you would be doing a service in stopping a war from ever happening, the loss of life on your hands if you deny it would be terrible. I'm sure you look lovely with a smile instead of that scowl." he looked to be sneaking in to kiss her, something that reminded her of Samuru, except she could tell that despite his words, her past self had no intention of 'letting him win'.

"The fool should have turned himself in as soon as he came to his senses, instead of hiding behind the crown! The war between your two worlds is none of my concern! If anyone may be blamed for deaths, it would be him!" she growled, but appeared to be losing her balance as her head moved back away from his insistent kiss. He momentarily gained the advantage before he was headbutted sharply, her tiara's stone smashing into his skull. He lost his balance instead, and she threw him ungracefully from the circle, bouncing end over end before landing, stunned, on his back.

"Bet the stars didn't tell you that was coming!" Juno shouted with a sneer, raising her fists in triumph. The crowd roared approval for her victory. The future of Jupiter would still be in question, but a triumphant celebration was called-for. Nephrite disappeared silently, knowing his defeat would have to be reported.

Makoto found herself also cheering, and turned back to the guardians, realizing how silly she was being. Chronos merely gave her a small smile, but Thanatos seemed unmoved. Naturally he had no discernable facial features wearing such a garment and mask, but something seemed off. "Thanatos, are you all right?"

For a few moments, he just floated there, and then the jade eyes blinked beneath the mask. "My apologies, Mako-chan... it's time to wake."

"Oh, did so much time pass?"

"Not really as much as you might think... It's time to wake because there's news. Time to go." Chronos made another bad pun before the two phased out and Makoto's eyes blinked open, hearing the rustle of the others as Yukio shook them awake.

"C'mon, time to go. The droids are taking too long, we can find Miun ourselves."

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The entire group left the inn of Hazatak sleepily, following Yukio at the head of the group. Ami still felt a little tired, and that sensation was shared by the others. She looked up at the starry sky and noticed the stars weren't familiar, nor were they moving as fast as the ship could possibly be going. She realized that she'd seen a sun when visiting the other domes, and the beating sun had also hit them during their first search for Miun. 'It must be a kind of holographic interface, to let the people believe they're on a world, and not a ship. Such bright technicians must have built this ship... but they couldn't be the people of Mercury, could they? The Ark is completely different in design, from what I've seen. Maybe I shouldn't doubt Samuru-san so mu-' her thoughts ceased, and she looked around quickly. He was nowhere in sight. "Yukio-san! Where's Samuru-san?"

"He's further ahead!" he shouted back to her, and a short hike across the cool sands of the desert later they found him, standing stupefied at what looked like Mieu, though horribly battle-scarred and deteriorated. Skin was torn away from the mechanical skull to reveal a reddish, faintly glowing eye. One of her arms was missing and sparking, and the flesh was stripped from one leg, as well as the boot. It looked like the only thing holding the cyborg upright was its faithful programming, as flawed as it might have been. The red iris widened and glowed brighter as its focus landed on Crys, and more intently, upon the hilt of his sword. Following her line of sight, he pulled free the now-cleaned and shimmering black sword.

"Orakio! You've re-returned, just as-as-as I hoped!" her voice was dry and mechanical, completely unlike Mieu's, and obviously just as damaged as the rest of her. She tried to move towards him but only shuffled along shakily.

"Yes, Miun... but why did you wait here for me?" he answered. She was in a sorry state, and probably would have done better to wait in the town, not fighting to survive and being worn away by the sun and sand. As it stood, she couldn't even tell Orakio from a distant descendant.

"I was tra-tra-tra-tra-trapped here, couldn't-n't leave. I'm so happy-py... I needed to see you ag-ag-again before I... I... I..." the light of her iris faded, and her limbs sagged, her body slumping forward into his open arms. After a thousand years of survival and vigilance in battle, her body had finally given in. He eased her to the ground, and pulled the three-pronged claw from her remaining hand, giving it to Mieu.

"Four down, one to go." he muttered, looking back down at the ancient duplicate. "It's difficult to believe people used to sign up for this, to alter themselves for battle, knowing how long they'd last, and how little would remain of themselves."

"More of her remained than you'd think." Samuru explained. "Only a strong emotion like love would keep her going this long. It 'is' one of the most irrational emotions, and even though Orakio was her master, there's always room for something more, even in a servant." he kneeled to the prone cyborg, closing the eye that still had skin, his body hiding from the group, but not from Ami, that he pulled her clinging spirit from the unmoving body and placed it in a pouch on his belt. "We should get moving before the sun comes up again. Where is the fifth weapon?"

"My sensors have tagged Siren to be hiding in Aquatica, dome two. He currently possesses the shotgun used in that time." the Wren unit stated. "I agree that we should hurry. The sun grows ever-closer, and if Siren has the codes to unlock the ship, we must get them to stop it."

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TBC. :D 


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